The IRS has clarified the “under construction” provision in the production tax credit.
Some good news from the IRS on April 15. Keep reading →
Geothermal
DOE’s Clean Energy Manufacturing Initiative would accelerate manufacturing of clean energy products and strengthen competitiveness of the U.S. clean energy sector in the global energy market.
On March 26, 2013, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced a new program – the Clean Energy Manufacturing Initiative – to support manufacturing of clean energy products in the U.S. The DOE announced the initiative at the opening of its Oak Ridge Carbon Fiber Technology Facility in Tennessee. The facility manufactures cost-efficient and lightweight carbon fiber used in electric vehicles, energy storage components, and wind turbines. According to the DOE, carbon fiber can reduce the weight of a passenger car by 50% and enhance fuel efficiency by approximately 35%. DOE estimates that the material could cut the weight of vehicles by up to 750 pounds by 2020. Keep reading →
The potential for underground injections to cause earthquakes was thought to be a problem for natural gas, but a new National Research Council study says the impacted sector will not be gas. It’s a problem for coal.
Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), pulling carbon out of emissions from coal-burning and storing it deep underground, has been prominent in clean energy planning over the last decade as a way to keep taking advantage of coal resources to meet energy demand while tackling climate change. Keep reading →
Geothermal energy technology is moving beyond volcanos, and popping up in unexpected spots like oilfields.
The technology developed in the last century to tap the earth’s heat has been most productive in regions where hotter layers are closer to the earth’s surface, like hot springs and active volcanic formations. Steam produced in those layers is used to generate electricity. Keep reading →
U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu earlier this month heralded the creation of a new geothermal-solar power plant in Fallon, Nevada, which he said was “the first of its kind in the world.”
The Stillwater facility has 26 megawatts (MW) of photovoltaic solar generating capacity and 33 MW of geothermal power. Keep reading →
Geothermal energy has struggled to grow in recent years but remains an area of distinct potential in a world where much of the growth in baseload power demand remains distant from the fuel that could generate that needed energy.
To reflect the interest of power industry officials and investors from around the world in geothermal energy and its potential for diversification, the US Geothermal Energy Association is hosting an International Showcase on May 23 in Washington, DC. Keep reading →
Policymakers must make more effort to de-risk geothermal exploration for investors and companies, said a vice-president at a leading US generation and utility company.
Jonathan Weisgall, VP of legislative and regulatory affairs at MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company, said: “We need to de-risk this industry. The tech costs have to come down for investors too, and all the time there is the spectre of low natural gas prices. But above all we need regulatory certainty.” Keep reading →
Geothermal resources could become California’s “bread and butter” baseload power as nuclear and gas-fired plants are retired, a state commissioner said this week.
The licence for the San Onofre nuclear power plant is due to expire in 2022, and the Diablo Canyon plant will not be permitted to continue generating after 2024, unless it applies for a 20-year extension. The facilities have a combined nameplate capacity of around 4,300 MW. Keep reading →
“Companies that don’t get this really risk becoming irrelevant,” says GE Ecoimagination VP Mark Vachon in this highlight video reel from the Ceres investor summit held at the UN’s headquarters in New York City last week.
The consensus among the speakers featured in the video is that investing with climate change in mind can mean investing in renewable energy projects with “bond-like” stable returns. It also means considering climate change risks like erosion and crop impacts. Keep reading →
What if all the energy we needed was stored underneath the ground we walk on every day?
Geothermal power, generated from capturing earth’s core heat stored deep underground, has become a growing reality as the industry marks a total US generation capacity of 3,000 MW this year. But unlike more recognized renewable energy sources like wind, solar and biomass, geothermal power is not widely recognized for its capability to produce base load, dependable, renewable energy. Keep reading →
Jared Anderson
Conway Irwin
Peter Gardett