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 →
By now, most people familiar with the geothermal power industry are aware that Raser Technologies, Inc. has recently emerged from bankruptcy and filed a legal action against UTC Power Corporation and Pratt & Whitney Power Systems, Inc. The lawsuit alleges that UTC Power andPWPS defrauded Raser in connection with the sale of PureCycle® power generation units for construction of a geothermal power plant at a site called Thermo 1 in southern Utah. As has been expressed in other public statements, UTC Power and PWPS deny Raser’s allegations and will vigorously defend the lawsuit.
As the lawsuit progresses and the truth regarding the Thermo 1 project comes to light, the geothermalpower industry will discover valuable lessons that can be learned from the Raser experience. As the legal process does not typically move at the speed of business, this article attempts to provide a brief overview of the Raser story and the lessons that should be gleaned by the industry. Keep reading →
Obama and business finally agree. The renewable energy business, that is.
“If we are going to compete in the 21st century, we have to dominate cutting edge technologies,” Obama said at a Thursday morning press conference. Keep reading →
Recent claims of weakness at some geothermal energy projects may be more a matter of temporary local problems than an indication of widespread trouble, industry sources told Breaking Energy.
Despite the financial struggles reported by the high-profile Nevada Geothermal Power project, the slump is not necessarily a real indication of the industry’s health. Keep reading →
Led by Katherine Hammack, assistant secretary of the Army for installations, energy and environment, the US Army has been revamping its energy policy over the last few months.
So when funds ran dry, the army realized it had the choice to either hold off its efforts or look elsewhere for help. On Thursday, Hammack told an Energy Initiatives Task Force Roundtable that the army would be choosing the latter: it is now seeking $7.1 million in private sector investment to develop utility-scale renewable projects that will feed the army 2.1 million MWh of electricity.
“We are all aware of budget challenges we are facing today,” Hammack said. Renewable energy, though, she explained, is a critical piece of army security and cannot simply be abandoned because of budget difficulties.
Keep reading →
Investors and players in the energy business often focus on the flashiest technologies, ranging from highly visible solar and wind in the generation sector to next-generation smart meters monitoring usage on the customer level.
Geothermal is often the “forgotten renewable.” While some countries and regions are able to access large-scale geothermal power production, the use of distributed geothermal to regulate temperatures and limit the extremes of air-conditioning or heating use could promote huge efficiencies in energy use across the entire US. Keep reading →
