“For decades, however, scientists have wondered if the less volatile subsurface in areas such as Texas could provide economically viable locations for geothermal power.” Quoted from the University of Texas at Austin press release.
“Today, for the most part, higher education for students interested in energy lacks the cross-disciplinary curriculum that they critically need, and so we propose the adoption of energy departments on college campuses, departments that would tie seemingly disconnected fields of the sector together.” Quoted from the article.
In addition to the Bakken Formation, lots of new energy is being tapped in North Dakota’s subsurface. During 2011, geothermal energy installations were up by 26% over 2010.
Instead of digging trenches or drilling a vertical well to install a geothermal system, some contractors will drill horizontal wells. This allows installation without digging trenches and the wells can travel under buildings, parking lots, athletic fields and more.
An article on the Oregon Public Broadcasting website describes the proposed use of fluid injection as part of an enhanced geothermal system that will utilize wells drilled on the flank of Newberry Crater. The U.S. Department of Energy is putting $22 million into the project. USGS has a recently installed seismic array that will monitor earthquakes produced by the injection.
Researchers at Montana State University are monitoring geothermal change beneath Yellowstone National Park in an effort to determine if commercial development of geothermal energy outside of the Park might damage Old Faithful and other park resources.
A 35-storey mixed-use building is being constructed in Montreal, Canada that will be heated and cooled by 19 wells that have been drilled to depths of 400 feet beneath the foundation.
Ball State University is building a geothermal system to heat and cool 46 buildings (6.7 million square feet) using thousands of boreholes. The multi-year project will retire a coal-fired boiler system.
The Energy Information Administration has an article that explores the sources of primary energy in the United States. Primary energy includes petroleum, natural gas, coal, nuclear fuel, and renewable energy.
An article on The Columbus Dispatch website reports that about twenty-five schools in Ohio are currently working on geothermal heating and cooling projects. Ohio has a long history of school geothermal projects and at one time had the largest building in North America with geothermal heat – a 240,000 square foot middle school with 300 wells and 143 heat pumps.
A new geothermal map of Australia shows that the continent has an enormous geothermal potential. The map was supported by Google.org who also funded geothermal mapping in the United States.
This is not news but a 2006 report from MIT titled: The Future of GeothermalEnergy – Impact of Enhanced Geothermal Systems on the United States in the 21st Century provides an excellent presentation on EGS.
The EIA Annual Energy Review contains maps showing the geographic distribution of renewable energy potential that includes: geothermal, onshore wind, offshore wind, concentrating solar, photovoltaic solar and biomass.
Data from the Energy Information Administration show that net imports of energy into the United States has fallen sharply in the past year. Some of this decline can be attributed to new sources of unconventional oil and gas along with renewable energy projects coming online.
Reno, Nevada has built a 100 megawatt geothermal plant that has the ability to supply the entire residential demand for the city. This video visits the plant and explains some advantages of using geothermal.
The Bogoria-Silali geothermal project in Kenya is intended to bring 2000 MW of power at a development cost of $3.4 billion. Kenya hosts East Africa’s largest economy and is fortunate to be crossed by the East African Rift Valley, a source of geothermal heat.
A presentation at the National Speleological Society annual meeting featured the Elephant Mountain vapor caves. These caves have a constant temperature of 86 degrees Fahrenheit and are heated by hot springs. Other caves in Colorado have typical temperatures of about 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
The Geological Survey of Canada has published a report titled: “GeothermalEnergy Resource Potential of Canada”. You can download a copy of the report at the Natural Resources Canada website after confirming their end-user agreement. It is a large .pdf document and takes a few minutes to arrive.
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