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Electricity has been generated successfully from a producing oil well's geothermal hot water for the first time, the US Department of Energy's Fossil Fuel Office reported on Oct. 18. DOE's Rocky Mountain Oilfield Testing Center and Ormat Technologies Inc. of Reno, Nev., began a 12-month test in September at RMOTC's Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 3 site north of Casper, Wyo., DOE said. A standard commercial Ormat Organic Rankine Cycle power plant, using hot water from a producing oil to exchange heat in an Ormat Energy Converter, is being used, it indicated. "This project is unique in its production of onsite...

An overlooked nook on our planet that may offer some smart lessons on how to cultivate the energy we need. Problems linked to foreign oil dependence are real and frightening. With oil prices north of $100 per barrel, constrictive environmental regulations proliferating, and incidents of pollution-related illness piling up, research into alternative energy sources is all the rage. As common as these efforts are becoming, it seems they still fall short of addressing the enormity of the crisis. Rather than fixate on the problems, however, let’s take a moment to look at a real-world example in an unexpected corner of...

The Great Forgotten Clean-Energy Source: Geothermal 04.03.2008 The U.S. uses less than 1 percent of our available geothermal energy. by Prachi Patel-Predd If we could extract all the geothermal energy that exists underneath the United States to a depth of two miles, it would supply America’s power demands (at the current rate of usage) for the next 30,000 years. Getting at all that energy is not feasible—there are technological and economic impediments—but drawing on just 5 percent of the geothermal wealth would generate enough electricity to meet the needs of 260 million Americans. The Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy...

The whine of the power plant sounds like a jet engine as refrigerant blasts through the turbine at 1000 mph. Though the equipment is compact, the din fills the vast hangar, and mechanical engineer Gwen Holdmann has to shout to be heard: “What you see here is very Alaskan. It’s not painted. It’s not pretty. But it’s real.” I place my hand on the steel door capping the plant’s evaporator; it’s warm to the touch, filled with Alaska’s most promising new energy source—plain water. It’s midnight at Chena Hot Springs Resort, 56 miles northeast of Fairbanks, and outside, the July...

MOUNT VERNON, Wash. -- The heat of the Mount Baker volcano could be tapped to generate geothermal power. The Forest Service has began an environmental impact study of an application from the Vulcan Power Co. of Bend, Ore., to lease 10,000 acres of land for a possible power plant that could generate electricity for about 100,000 people. The plant would use underground heat to turn turbines. If Vulcan's application is approved test wells could be drilled next year.

Homeless Organization Goes Green Project Place Says It Can Spent More On Clients, Not Energy NewsCenter 5's David Brown reported that a new, green $2.5 million building houses Project Place in Boston's South End. The 40-year-old not-for-profit organization helps some of Boston's homeless through job creation and training. The agency aims to help sustain the lives of the nearly 1,000 clients while doing so in a sustainable building. "The more money we could save in not using energy, using it efficiently, was the more money we could put towards programs. To me, that was a no brainer," said Suzanne Kenney,...

Helium isotopes point to the best sources of geothermal energy TEMPE, Ariz. – With fossil fuel sources depleting and global warming on the rise, exploring alternative means of power for humans is a necessary reality. Now, looking to the sky, relying on the wind or harnessing water power are not the only remaining options. Deep within Earth is an untapped source of energy: geothermal energy. It has been estimated that within the continental United States, there is a sizable resource of accessible geothermal energy – about 3,000 times the current annual U.S. consumption. Two important reasons this storehouse of energy...

What do Icelanders know about heat? Quite a lot, it turns out. For 70 years, the chilly island nation has been tapping the Earth's warmth -- using geothermal energy to heat buildings and swimming pools, melt snow and generate more than a quarter of the country's electricity. And now they've come to California to share the knowledge. The effort will be formally launched today in downtown Los Angeles, where Iceland President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson and a handful of city and state officials will openthe new headquarters of Iceland America Energy, the company that will lead Iceland's geothermal push in North...

Scaling Geothermal for Reliable Baseload Power by Oliver Strube, Publisher & Stephen Lacey, Staff Writer Reno, Nevada [RenewableEnergyAccess.com] Geothermal is the most reliable form of renewable baseload power and given the proper financial support from the private sector -- and favorable policies from government -- it will become a viable alternative to coal, natural gas and nuclear, according to speakers at the Geothermal Resource Council's annual meeting in Reno, Nevada earlier this week. The meeting, held in conjunction with the Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) trade show, drew an estimated 2,000 people and over 50 exhibitors ranging from project developers to...

Sale of geothermal leases generates $5.7 million By: JASON KAUFFMAN The Idaho Bureau of Land Management's first ever offering of geothermal leases netted nearly $6 million in a recent sale, the federal land management agency has reported. Under federal Energy Policy Act of 2005, a total of eight BLM parcels--five in Idaho and three in Utah--were offered for leasing on June 20. The sale of the five Idaho parcels, which totaled 8,901 acres, generated $5.7 million. Four of the geothermal lease parcels lie in the Raft River Valley in southern Idaho's Cassia County. The fifth parcel is located in Washington...

SW Alaska electric co-op plans seismic survey, deep drilling to find energy source for Bristol Bay region; Shell lending a hand ... Faced with the double whammy of depressed salmon prices and escalating energy bills, the Southwest Alaska community of Naknek is looking deep underground to alleviate the Bristol Bay region’s economic woes. Local electric co-op Naknek Electric Association plans to drill for a geothermal energy source that could power electricity generation for as many as 30 communities in the region, the NEA’s general manager Donna Vukich told Petroleum News on June 12. NEA has been investigating the potential for...

AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas has awarded the state's first lease for geothermal energy production to a company planning to explore the renewable energy's potential along seven Gulf Coast counties. Ormat Technologies, Inc. paid $55,645, or $5 an acre, for the right to explore 11,129 acres for pockets of hot water and steam under the ocean floor, the General Land Office announced Tuesday. "We got more bids than we expected," Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson said. "I think that's a good sign geothermal might just be an economically viable form of renewable energy for Texas."

A comprehensive new MIT-led study of the potential for geothermal energy within the United States has 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. CAMBRIDGE, MASS., USA -- A comprehensive new MIT-led study of the potential for geothermal energy within the United States has found that mining the huge amounts of heat that reside as stored thermal energy in the Earth's hard rock...

A comprehensive new MIT-led study of the potential for geothermal energy within the United States has 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. MIT Professor Jefferson Tester points to a geothermal map of the U.S. Tester lead a panel that has concluded that a substantial portion of the country's energy needs could be met by mining geothermal resources. (Photo Credit: Donna Coveney)...

The extraordinary amount of heat seething below Earth's hard rocky crust could help supply the United States with a significant fraction of the electricity it will need in the future, probably at competitive prices and with minimal environmental impact, scientists now claim. An 18-member panel led by MIT has prepared the first study in some 30 years to take a new look at the largely ignored area of geothermal energy. Geothermal plants essentially mine heat by using wells at times a mile or more deep. These wells tap into hot rock and connect them with flowing water, producing large amounts...

A small earthquake that struck Basel on Friday was caused by drilling work for a planned power plant that would produce electricity from heat in the Earth's crust. The canton Basel-City prosecutor has launched an investigation to find if the company behind the Deep Heat Mining project can be held responsible for any possible damage. The tremor was felt shortly before 6 pm and measured 3.4 on the Richter scale according to the Swiss Seismological Service. The local police and fire departments received hundreds of phone calls from worried citizens, and some buildings suffered from cracks and broken tiles....

New funding for U.S. geothermal energy By KRISTYN ECOCHARD UPI Correspondent WASHINGTON, Nov. 28 (UPI) -- Increasing oil prices and enthusiasm from the incoming Congress are renewing interest in sustainable energy and have led to the construction of 50 to 60 new geothermal power in nine states, Canada and six other countries. Already in Iceland more than 17 percent of electricity, and in the Philippines, more than 27 percent, is generated from geothermal power, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. "Geothermal energy is green energy, something that will become more important in a world where we see changes in...

unique biodiesel project under development in Nevada is being touted as the world’s first geothermal-powered and heated biodiesel plant. Infinifuel Biodiesel is expected to harness process steam and power from an existing geothermal plant in Wabuska, Nev. The existing geothermal power plant features two production wells and seven power production units creating more than five megawatts of electricity, according to Infinifuel. The power plant will provide two megawatts of electricity and 220-degree Fahrenheit steam to the biodiesel facility, which is nearing completion, according to Infinifuel’s Claude Sapp. The project has been under development for almost a year, Sapp said. The...

Anyone who ever tried to dig a hole in January knows how hard the cold earth can be. However, underneath that top layer of soil, the earth is a warmer, more constant temperature no matter what the calendar says. Home builders are starting to take advantage of that by introducing geothermal heat pumps into homes new and old. The concept is simple and dates to the 1800s, but not until the 1940s did any buildings start delivering on its promise.

MALTA -- Idaho is certainly no stranger to using water for power generation, but it doesn't usually require drilling a mile into the ground to access that water. U.S. Geothermal is drilling a mile below the surface of the earth to tap into geothermal power. But that's exactly what's happening at the Northwest's first-ever geothermal power plant under construction in the Idaho desert. The Raft River power project is near Malta, about 200 miles southeast of Boise. On the surface it seems contradictory - going to the desert to harvest water. But, if you dig deep enough, Daniel Kunz says...

FAIRBANKS -- A hot springs resort near here depends less than ever on diesel fuel, using steamy water welling up from the ground to power light bulbs, a greenhouse and an ice museum. Over the past three years, managers of the Chena Hot Springs Chena Chiller Geothermal Power Plant have been gradually shifting the source of power away from diesel generators. The plant is the cornerstone of owner Bernie Karl's goal to make the resort a self-sustaining community in terms of energy, food and fuel. The project had the financial backing and support of several state, national and governmental agencies,...

Idaho gets Northwest’s first geothermal plant MICHAEL KECKLER For the Express Four years ago, Doug Glaspey stood outside a locked gate in a remote corner of Idaho and dreamed of producing power. Late last month, his dream became reality with a groundbreaking ceremony at that same remote place, near the Raft River south of Malta. Glaspey is now chief operating officer for U.S. Geothermal Inc., which is building the Northwest's first geothermal-powered electricity plant. The company plans to be turning out 10 megawatts by September 2007 (enough electricity to power approximately 2,900-homes), increasing to 36 megawatts within four years, and...

An MIT chemical engineer explains why new technologies could finally make "heat mining" practical nearly anywhere on earth. A section of the geothermal plants north of San Francisco, known as The Geysers. These plants rely on relatively rare geologic formations. MIT professor Jefferson Tester believes geothermal can be much more widespread, by making artificial reservoirs for harvesting the earth’s heat. (Source: National Renewable Energy Laboratory) The answer to the world's energy needs may have been under our feet all this time, according to Jefferson Tester, professor of chemical engineering at the MIT Laboratory for Energy and the Environment. Tester says...

BILLINGS, Mont. - A newly discovered surface bulge in Yellowstone National Park may be responsible for some unexpected geothermal activity in recent years, according to a study by U.S. Geological Survey scientists. The bulge, about 25 miles across, rose 5 inches from 1997 to 2003 and may have triggered some thermal unrest at Norris Geyser Basin, including a sudden rise in temperatures, new steam vents and the awakening of Steamboat geyser.The findings are part of a paper set to be published Thursday in the journal Nature.Charles Wicks, one of the USGS scientists who worked on the study, said much of...

Much of Yellowstone National Park is a giant collapsed volcano, or caldera. In an enormous eruption roughly 640,000 years ago, this volcano spit out around 240 cubic miles of rock, dirt, magma and other material. Around 70,000 years ago, its last eruption filled in that gaping hole with flows of lava. Since then the area has enjoyed an uneasy peace, the land alternately rising and falling with the passing decades. New satellite data indicate that this uplift and subsidence is caused by the movement of magma beneath the surface and may explain why the northern edge of the park continues...

Global Warming Needs “New Look” at Mechanisms Involved As Europe struggles with another week of sub-zero temperatures- (Russia and the Ukraine have reported –40 degree temperatures and considerable loss of life)- recent discoveries have been causing “the Greenhouse Gas Gang” some additional loss of composure. Last year, according to the January 14,2006 of “New Scientist” magazine, environmental engineer Frank Keppler, and his colleagues at the Max Planck Institute discovered that living plants emit a significant portion – 10% to 30 % ,depending on the season – of the methane –a more serious greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide- that makes its...

I'm a big fan of hot springs and usually visit them purely for pleasure. But last month my soak at Chena Hot Springs was all business. Well, mostly. The Alaskan Geothermal Working Group's first "summit" at Chena focused on geothermal as a power source for Alaska. Over the two-day meeting the 75 participants learned a lot -- like how Iceland is now getting almost 20 percent of its electricity from geothermal. We also heard from Roy Mink, who heads the U.S. Department of Energy's Geothermal Technologies Division in Washington, D.C. He told us the DOE considers Alaska one of a...

Scientists CloselyMonitoring YellowstoneProLiberty.com12-23-3   Recent eruptions, 200 degree ground temperatures, bulging magma and 84 degree water temperatures prompt heightened srutiny of park's geothermal activity...  BILLINGS, Mont. -- Yellowstone National Park happens to be on top of one of the largest "super volcanoes" in the world. Geologists claim the Yellowstone Park area has been on a regular eruption cycle of 600,000 years. The last eruption was 640,000 years ago making the next one long overdue. This next eruption could be 2,500 times the size of the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption. Volcanologists have been tracking the movement of magma under...