Geothermal Energy Industry Sees Steady GrowthFederal, Industry...

Geothermal Energy Industry Sees Steady Growth
Federal, Industry News
April 4, 2012

The U.S. geothermal industry continued its steady growth adding approximately 91MW of newly installed capacity in the past year, according to the annual update on the geothermal industry from the Geothermal Energy Association. The Annual U.S. Geothermal Power Production and Development Report shows that the industry currently has 3,187MW of installed capacity, significantly outpacing every other country in the world. As a renewable, baseload energy supply, geothermal has the potential to replace coal and other non-renewable power sources.

Currently, geothermal electric power generation is occurring in eight U.S. states, including Alaska, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming. An additional seven states - Arizona, Colorado, Louisiana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Texas and Washington - have geothermal capacity in development. California continues to lead the way when it comes to geothermal energy. The Golden State ranks first in overall installed capacity, with 2,615MW already online, and it has nearly 2,000MW of capacity in development. Nevada is also ahead of the pack, with 59 projects currently in development, more than any other state.