Geothermal
Energy: Latest Developments for this
“Hot” Contributor to
U.S.
Energy Production
Thursday, March 1, 2007
9:30 - 11:00 a.m., 2203
Rayburn
House
Office
Building
The Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) and the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invite you to learn
about the latest developments in geothermal energy and what this
could mean for the country’s energy future.
This second annual briefing will feature representatives
from the private, government, and nonprofit sectors who have
traveled from around the country to share their expertise.
The event will highlight cutting edge reports and
technological innovations that have made – and continue to
make – geothermal a renewable success story.
Growing rapidly, capacity is estimated to double in the
United States over the next five years, with hundreds of
thousands more megawatts of potential to be tapped. Will
today’s advances be looked upon as the starting point for the
future’s sustainable energy economy?
Will federal policies support or hinder achieving the
potential of this reliable, renewable resource?
Be a part of this critical discussion:
-
Hear from the Chair of the
panel responsible for the new MIT study looking at the broad
potential for geothermal energy through Enhanced Geothermal
Systems.
-
Learn about new small,
distributed geothermal power technology being used in
Alaska
that could spread geothermal electricity to dozens of states
with no previous development.
-
Find out about the latest
geothermal energy developments in the
United States
and other new reports about its potential.
-
Consider how federal and
state policies could help utilize this vast, untapped
renewable energy source.
Featured
speakers include:
-
Bernie
Karl, Owner and Renewable Energy
Advocate, Chena
Hot Springs
Resort,
Alaska
Presentation (pdf)
·
Jeff Tester,
Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT),
Massachusetts
, and Chair of MIT assessment report: “The Future of
Geothermal Energy”
Presentation
(pdf)
·
Roy Mink,
U.S. Geothermal,
Idaho
and former DOE Geothermal Program Director
Presentation (pdf)
·
Paul
Thomsen, Manager of Public Policy, Ormat
Presentation (pdf)
Audio Recording of Briefing and Q&A
Geothermal power projects are under development in a record
number of states across the West and in
Gulf states
, and businesses and the media are talking about this “hot”
prospect. Several
new reports that will be discussed at this briefing underscore
its tremendous potential:
-
GEA released a report in
February that finds extensive undeveloped geothermal
resources in 14 Western states –
Alaska
,
Arizona
,
California
,
Colorado
,
Hawaii
,
Idaho
,
Montana
,
Nevada
,
New Mexico
,
Oregon
,
Texas
,
Utah
,
Washington
, and
Wyoming
. An
Executive Summary (12 pages) and Full Report (140 pages) are
both available at http://www.geo-energy.org/publications/reports.asp.
(An Assessment
of Geothermal Resource Development Needs in the
Western United States
, by Daniel Fleischmann)
-
Initiated by Dr. Roy Mink,
the National Renewable Energy Laboratory published a
Technical Report in November defining the “enormous
potential of geothermal resources.”
This document looks at what the full range of
geothermal energy technologies could contribute by 2015,
2025 and 2050.
Geothermal—The Energy Under Our Feet is
available at http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy07osti/40665.pdf
-
An MIT-led study released in
January found “that mining the huge amounts of heat that
reside as stored thermal energy in the Earth's hard rock
crust could supply a substantial portion of the electricity
the United States will need in the future, probably at
competitive prices and with minimal environmental impact.”
An Executive Summary and the full MIT report, The
Future of Geothermal Energy, are available at: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/geothermal/future_geothermal.html
Also, Chena Hot Springs and UTC Power, a United Technologies
Company, were co-recipients of the renewable Project of the Year
Award from Power Engineering Magazine in 2006.
To learn more about how this community is realizing its
vision to become self-sufficient and sustainable in terms of
energy, food, heating and fuel use visit: http://www.yourownpower.com.
This
briefing is open to the public and media. No reservations are
required. Please feel free to forward this notice.
For more information, contact Alyssa Kagel (research@geoenergy.org),
202-454-5261, or Fred Beck (fbeck@eesi.org)
, 202-662-1892.
