NOV 30

A new map of geothermal energy potential released by Southern Methodist University is the result of years of research funded by Google.org.  The map (click here to download and view in Google Earth) shows that there are enough viable geothermal resources in the U.S. to replace the current coal power capacity ten times over.

Last year, SMU gave us a sneak peak of the research they've been doing by releasing a geothermal energy potential map for West Virginia.  Surprisingly, the state is a hot spot for geothermal energy recovery, a wonderful development in an area where coal power has dominated for a long time.

The study limited its analysis to the top 6.5 km of the earth's crust to accurately portray what was actually drillable, recoverable energy.  When the researchers applied limits to depth and excluded areas that were inaccessible due to being in large urban areas or national parks, the technical potential versus theoretical potential for geothermal energy production was revealed.  The technical potential was about 14 percent of the theoretical potential, yet still enough to crush our current coal power capacity ten times over.

via Climate Progress

Comments (5)

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written by Evan, November 30, 2011

when did hawaii and alaska stop being a part of the u.s.?

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written by jcsr, December 01, 2011

Enough to crush coal power! My, my, those are very harsh words. Expect a demand for an apology from Ms. Bachman and others.

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But what about all that hot air
written by Matt, December 01, 2011

There maybe be a lot. But letting all that hot air (and water) out would be unsafe. Might deflate the earth.

Much safer to stick with gas fracking, coal, and oil. Plus we would loose all those MTR coal jobs.

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Fantastic article!
written by Richard Davine, December 09, 2011

Coupled with renewables investment trends, these research findings give me great hope for Americas future. I hope this sets a trend for the rest of the world to tap geothermal. The heat released from geothermal is small compared with fossil fuels, and really. Who cares about their jobs?
Did we cry about the horse and cart guys when the car came along?
Nope.

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written by Ramona Greenstein, December 10, 2011

This is sweet news!!! Why don't we ever see this type of news in the big news chains?? I would love to see geothermal being used and the lung diseases for the people of West Virginia diminish as they are put to work on geothermal pipelines rather than in the coal mines. What needs to happen to get this off the ground?

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