Archive for December, 2009
Top Geothermal News for 2009: Government support spurs the industry
At Geothermal Digest, we have been following the industry for a scant five months and publishing for four, since our inception in September. In that time some major items have crossed our desks. What follows are what we consider the top stories from the latter half of the year, and some personal favorites. The injection [...]
New Zealand Fraud Office called in over loan deals
In New Zealand, $55 million of loans made to a geothermal project in Taupo have been written off following the collapse of the project. It had been hoped that a buyer for the geothermal development earlier this year but offers evaporated in the wake of the global financial crisis. The loans were noted in an [...]
GEA Geothermal Energy Finance Forum 2010
On January 14 in New York, the Geothermal Energy Association’s one-day Geothermal Energy Finance Forum will bring the finance and investment community of the city together, providing a tutorial on geothermal energy investment with top experts and major players in geothermal development and finance. While the U.S. is the global leader in generating electrical power [...]
This Week in Geothermal Opinion: Why we should reconsider geothermal energy
Bryan Welch of Mother Earth News writes “The development of geothermal electric generation – or the lack of development – precisely illustrates our lack of vision when it comes to energy policy. Geothermal energy is virtually limitless. It is very clean in most locations. Massive amounts of power can be generated from a central plant [...]
Kalina Cycle energy conversion from Global Geothermal
In Texas, Global Geothermal provides power from geothermal resources and waste heat directly without the use of any additional fuel. Kalina Cycle energy conversion technology, developed by the company, can produce up to 50% more power compared to other technologies. The Kalina Cycle energy conversion technology uses an ammonia-water mixture as an active fluid to [...]
Ram Power gets conditional use permit for Orita project
In Nevada, Ram Power, Corp. has picked up a Geothermal Conditional Use Permit for its 49.9 MW Orita I project in Imperial Valley, CA. The permit allows the company to drill, sample, monitor and flow test up to six exploratory wells. Ram Power intends to drill several large diameter wells that they may use for [...]
Calpine to test injection results in two unused wells at The Geysers
In California, Calpine Corp. will use a $5.7 million DOE grant to monitor the revitalization of two fallow geothermal wells in The Geysers steam field. One well is to be injected with water to enhance naturally-occurring underground steam production, while the second well will be used to closely monitor and record the results. The company [...]
Entire nation aiming at total fossil fuel independence
In Iceland, policy makers are moving the country to complete fossil fuel independence. Eighty percent of the country’s energy is already derived from renewable sources – notably geothermal – the next step is a national charging network for electric cars. Northern Lights Energy, which provides infrastructure and services for electric vehicles in the country, has [...]
China legislation boosts renewable energy sector
In China, the country’s highest ranking legislature has adopted an amendment to the renewable energy law that will now require electricity grid companies to buy all the power produced by renewable energy providers. While two-thirds of China’s energy supply is derived from coal, the National People’s Congress Standing Committee made the change to the 2006 [...]
Tunisia looking to increase geothermal irrigation program
In Tunisia, a government program is aiming to double the land area currently irrigated and heated by geothermal water. The program, in place since 1986, currently supports 194,000 hectares used for farming and is looking to increase that total to 310,000 hectares in 2010. Another 103,000 hectares of greenhouses are heated with the resource, 44% [...]
