Australia opens up Geopower exploration; NGP finds geothermal energy drilling success

Geothermal energy news; geothermal company info


Here is a roundup of recent news stories focusing on geothermal power, geothermal energy investing and geothermal power stocks in the news.

Regarding geothermal energy exploration in Australia, the Western Australian Government has nominated an area of the state where companies will be allowed to search for geothermal energy sources.

The area stretches from Kalbarri, in the Mid West, to Dunsborough, in the South West, and has been divided into 495 lots, each with an area of 320 square kilometers.

Back in the USA, Nevada Geothermal (NGP.V) has recently found some success drilling for viable geothermal power sources on their Blue Mountain property near Winnemucca, Nev.

Is this a buying opportunity for Ormat Technologies (ORA)? After reaching a high of 57.93 in December 2007, it’s just one month later and the stock is back near the $40 level of six months ago. Considering that this is the top geothermal power company in the world, my belief is that anyone looking to acquire this stock may want to do some dollar cost averaging over the next ferw months, as this is a quality firm in a booming industry.



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Geothermal Power could replace coal in Australia and Tasmania

articlr from News.com.au

by MICHAEL STEDMAN

TASMANIA could be generating clean, renewable geothermal power within five years, say the leaders of the emerging industry.

Companies with geothermal, or hot rock, tenements have stepped up their exploration efforts across vast areas of the state during the past month.

Industry experts say geothermal energy has the potential to replace coal as the major energy resource in Australia and Tasmania is of particular interest because of its proximity to transmission infrastructure.

"Hot rock" energy is generated by pumping water up to 5km underground and harnessing the earth's heat to run steam-driven turbines.

KUTh Energy has the largest geothermal exploration lease in Australia, covering 14,000sqkm from south of Hobart to the mouth of the Tamar River.

The company plans to spend $3 million to $4 million on exploration over the next three years, including its present drilling program in the Midlands.

While general manager Malcolm Ward was cautious about making promises, he said the company aimed to have a power station online within five years.

It would cost at least $35 million to get the pilot power station up and running.

"If everything goes well we could have a small five-megawatt generating capacity in three to five years," Mr Ward said.

That would provide enough to power a town of 5000 people.

However, once a resource is found, more power can be generated simply by drilling new holes and adding more turbines.

"We don't know how much power we will ultimately generate but we have an ambition to get to 200 megawatts," Mr Ward said.

Geothermal Energy Tasmania general manager Lindsay Newnham said Tasmania had huge potential for geothermal power.

His company, which is a subsidiary of Allegiance Mining, has tenements across the North and West of the state.

"I think Tasmania is in a unique position and the whole state has tremendous potential for hot-rock geothermal energy," Mr Newnham said.

Geological surveys have shown Tasmania has large areas of hot granite which are essential for heating water to the super-hot temperatures required to generate electricity.

The extensive high-voltage network also means power could be distributed from anywhere in the state and sold to the mainland via Basslink.

Geothermal power is unique because, unlike other renewables like wind and solar, it is capable of delivering an uninterrupted baseload supply.

That means it could play a vital role in supplementing the state's growing energy needs.

Last week Transend announced a major upgrade of its distribution network because of increased use of power-hungry air conditioners, plasma TVs and "McMansions".

"Tasmania has hydro electricity which is good but Tasmania is growing and there are not going to be any more hydro schemes built, so we have a chance to meet that demand," Mr Ward said.

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Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) says US geopower output to double

Geothermal Energy Association (GEA)

WBR Article; from www.WyomingBusinessReport.com

Geothermal energy growth surges
By MJ Clark


January 18, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – A survey released by the Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) identifies a growing number of new geothermal power projects in states across the country, including one in Wyoming.

These projects, when developed, would provide up to 3,368 MW of new electric power capacity for the grid, more than doubling US geothermal power capacity from 2,936 MW to almost 6,304 MW -- enough to meet the needs of 6 million households.

New projects are underway in Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

According to the report, Wyoming ranks last in the list of 12 states with new geothermal projects with just one research and development project begun last year – the Rocky Mountain Oil and Gas Center near Casper, which will produce commercial electricity using hot water produced during the process of oilfield production. The project is expected to generate 0.2 megawatts (enough to power 200 homes.)

Geothermic energy is described by the GEA’s Web page as “a clean, renewable resource that provides energy in the United States and around the world … The heat continuously flowing from the Earth’s interior is estimated to be equivalent to 42 million megawatts of power.(1) The interior of the Earth is expected to remain extremely hot for billions of year to come, ensuring an inexhaustible flow of heat.”

Geothermic energy can be used to generate steam for electrical power generation, or can be used “as is” for space heating and cooling, food preparation and industrial processes.

"The surge in new geothermal power development continues in the U.S.," said Karl Gawell, GEA's executive director. According to the new GEA report 86 new geothermal power projects were underway in 12 states as of January 2008. This is an increase of 35 projects in an additional three states compared to a survey completed just about one year earlier (November 2006).

Development of these new projects will provide significant economic benefits, according to GEA. "New projects will result in the infusion of $11 billion in capital investment in the western states, and create 5,600 permanent jobs and over 21,000 person-years of construction and manufacturing employment," Gawell stated. "New projects will offset 25 million metric tons of carbon dioxide compared to coal-fired power plants, which is equivalent to removing over 5 million cars off the road," he added.

The survey was presented yesterday at a GEA Workshop at Bally's Casino and Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada.

"New federal and state initiatives to promote geothermal energy are paying off," commented Gawell. "State renewable standards coupled with the federal production tax credit are creating a renaissance in US geothermal power production," he added.

But, the federal production tax credit is about to expire at the end of 2008. In December the Senate failed by one vote to keep a multi-year extension of the renewable tax credits in the energy bill. According to the industry, it is now facing a serious dilemma.

"If we can build and sustain this momentum, geothermal energy can become a major US energy source," according to Gawell. "But, Congress and the administration must work together to extend the renewable energy tax credits before they expire. Without an extended credit, the resulting tax hike will undercut one of the fastest growing segments of the US economy - renewable energy," he warned.

The full text of the Geothermal Production and Development Update January 16 2008 is being made available on the GEA web site at: Geothermal Energy Association report



Suggested browsing:

The Solar Intelligence Blog

Best Alternative Energy Websites and Blogs

A Green Realtor Blog

North American Geothermal Power website links

Here some key US and Canadian geothermal energy websites and blogs to help with research into geothermal power stocks and company website links:


British Columbia geothermal opportunities

Canadian Geothermal Energy Association

Centre For Energy Geothermal Power analysis

DOE Geothermal Energy Glossary

DOE Geothermal Technologies Program

Geoexchange Heat Pump Consortium

Geothermal Energy Association

Geothermal Resources Council at Geothermal.org

Introduction to Geothermal Energy - Online slide show

Nevada Geothermal Power (NGP:TSX.V)

Ontario Goverment Geothermal Energy page

Oregon Institute of Technology Geo-Heat Center

Ormat Technologies (ORA) official website

Sierra Geothermal (SRA: TSX.V) company website

US Geological Survey main site

US Geothermal Inc (GTH.TO) company info

Western GeoPower (WGP: TSX.V)


Suggested browsing:

Bees Trees Frogs Elephants

Guide to Alternative Energy websites and blogs

A Green Realtor Blog

UK Geothermal Energy Companies Website Links

Here are some geothermal power websites and blogs from England, Scotland and other parts of the United Kingdom:




Alternative Use Group PL - Generate power from any waste material




Arctic Heat Pumps - Geothermal ground source heat pumps




Cheshire Renewable Energy Initiative - Renewable energy incl. pv, solar thermal, small scale wind and biomass




Earth Energy UK - UK's leading Geothermal Power company




Earthwise Scotland -Scotland's leading independent Heat Pump Specialist




Geothermal-Solar.com - UK Geothermal energy and solar power




Geowarmth.co.uk - Ground source heating in Northumberland




Go Geothermal Ltd - European sourced Geothermal grade pe100 16bar heat
collector pipework




Good Energy Electricity - 100% Green UK electricity




Heat Pump Direct UK - For home heating and swimming pools




Johnstone and Clark Heating - Dumfries and Stranraer UK offices




Land-Drill Limited - Land-drilling, environmental, hydrogeological, geological geotechnical




Nordic Geothermal - Western European Distributors of Nordic High Efficiency Heat Pumps




Raeburn Drilling UK - Based in Hamilton, Birmingham and Chesham




Renewable Energy Statistics Database for the United Kingdom




UK Renewable Energy Centre - Energy saving alternatives in the UK





Eire

Alternative Heat Co - AlternativeHeat.co.uk is based in Castlewellan County Down, Ireland




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SolarIntell.com - Best Alternative Energy Websites and Blogs