Geothermal Energy as a growing green energy choice
A leading US geothermal developer applauded new House legislation seeking to tap possibly hundreds of thousands of megawatts of new geothermal energy to meet US power needs. "Today, nearly 3,000 MW of new geothermal power are under development, which will create over 10,000 new jobs and new investment of over $7 billion, but much more is possible," Paul Thomsen, Public Policy Manager of Ormat Technologies, told the House Science Subcommittee on Energy and Environment.
Geothermal energy is clearly growing, but currently is only in its infancy. The potential is there though for an easy source of renewable, green energy. US Geothermal, which trades on the Amercian Stock Exchange under the symbol HTM is a stock to check out if you are interested in investing or just interested to see what kind of geothermal development is going on currently.
Geothermal is very attractive due to its very small footprint as energy capture and extraction is contained entirely underground, and the surface equipment needed for conversion to electricity is relatively compact Today, we are tapping only 3.5% of the estimated hydrothermal resource base. Is that acceptable when our country imports 10 million barrels of oil a day and is 60% dependent on net petroleum imports
"The US is at the forefront of geothermal energy development globally, and will continue to be in the lead. We see a considerable geothermal energy potential in 82 countries worldwide," said Árni Magnússon, Managing Director, Glitnir Global Sustainable Energy. "Geothermal, long the 'Sleeping Beauty' of sustainable energy, is now showing clear signs of waking up."
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