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Geology News
Geothermal Current Events

Geodynamics, a company operating near the town of Innaminca, South Australia is working on a hot rocks geothermal power project. To prove that their system will work, they plan to provide free power to the town.

Mike and Astri Kilburn have been heating their Vermont home with a ground water geothermal system for about 25 years. This article tells about their experience.

NASA Image

A new geothermal system at an elementary school near Peoria, Illinois is saving the district 70% on heating in the winter and 40% on total energy costs the rest of the year.

A housing and health care facility for senior citizens in Massachusetts will be heated and cooled by over 400 geothermal wells. They project that this system will save at least $400,000 per year in energy costs.

Chevron is the world’s leading company for the production of geothermal energy. They have geothermal plants in Indonesia and the Philippines.

Lots of people are willing to pay a bit extra for a home that has environmentally friendly features - especially if those features can pay for themselves over the lifetime of the home. A prime example are homes with geothermal heating or cooling systems.

The potential for geothermal energy in the Cascades is starting to attract attention. Some think that there will be commercial plants there within the next ten years.

USGS Image

Scientists have found a recently-formed hot spot beneath the northeast corner of the Greenland ice sheet that is possibly responsible for some of the melting there.

The Geothermal Laboratory at Southern Methodist University has an impressive collection of maps, databases and other information on the geothermal characteristics of North America. They also have information related to geothermal heat pumps for heating and cooling buildings.

A new article on geysers with photos from Yellowstone, California, Chile, Iceland and New Zealand. Did you know that Steamboat Geyser in Yellowstone has produced the tallest eruptions of any active geyser. Too bad it erupts very infrequently.

Workers in the deep gold mines below Yellowknife, Northwest Territories have always known about the geothermal gradient. Now there are proposals to tap the heat from a couple of mines that remove gold from over two kilometers below the surface.

Graduate student ,Matthew Jackson of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, provides an image-rich essay on the magmatic origins of Samoa. Like Hawaii, Samoa has been built over a hotspot and Jackson used seismic activity data to investigate.

Helium gas has been discovered leaking from the ground near the Dixie Valley geothermal plant in central Nevada. This discovery led to a survey of Helium-3 and Helium-4 in the area and the publication of a helium map of the Basin and Range Province.

Studies are underway for a geothermal plant in the Northern Marianas Islands. There, nine volcanoes have the potential for producing geothermal energy at a cost that might be less than what is spent on the diesel-powered generators.

An underground source of hot water was just one of the resources found as part of the Tellus Project - a resource assessment of Northern Ireland. The water is about 90 degrees Celsius and at a depth of 3000 feet.

The government of Tasmania has awarded two exploration permits for geothermal power. Both of the companies receiving permits plan to explore for hot dry rocks.

A municipal well in Chandler, Arizona produces naturally hot water that is delivered to residential taps at up to 100 degrees Fahrenheit - and sometimes higher. Although people who are supplied by the well do not have “cold running water” but the city enjoys its 3 million gallons per day production capacity. We know some people in northern climates who would love to own that well!

USGS Image

The thermal springs of Long Valley Caldera have drawn visitors as long as they have been known to people. However, they can be very dangerous and erupt boiling hot water without warning. Several visitors to the area have been killed or injured because they have disregarded the Park Service warnings. Recently, the springs are becoming even more variable in their behavior and the Park Service has decided to restrict access to previously public areas.

Australia

Geothermal energy could supply up to 10% of Australia’s electricity needs by 2030. However, there are many challenges that must be solved. Drilling rigs are hard to get because the recent boom in mineral exploration has consumed most of Australia’s drilling capacity. Geothermal fields are not well placed on the existing power grid and other technical problems require careful development and production. The Australian Labor Party has pledged A$50 million to geothermal development.

Iceland Map

Iceland sits atop the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and an enormous amount of renewable heat is immediately below. An agreement has been reached for the Icelandic Energy Authority to supply geothermal-generated electricity to a German utility through a sea-bed cable.