I have to admit to never having heard of geothermal technology until one of those Google links popped up above my inbox. And, like Alice in the Lewis Carroll story, I decided to follow this clean energy rabbit into the cyber hole. This is what I found out and, hey, in fact you do need to get under the earth to explore this type of energy.
Geothermal energy is the heat from the Earth. Resources are varied, ranging from the shallow ground to hot water and hot rock found a few miles beneath the Earth’s surface, and down even deeper to the extremely high temperatures of molten rock called magma” (Check out Renewable Energy World’s page on Geothermal energy). And yes, it can be applied domestically.
Now the economic aspect of geothermal. According to a report in MarketWatch, “geothermal is poised to meet the rapidly growing demand for renewable, zero-carbon power” and “interest in geothermal development has never been higher evidenced by the record 400% increase in land-lease prices garnered earlier this month at auction by the Bureau of Land Management – as everyone searches for the next big play in renewable energy.” In fact, an event called Geothermal Finance & Investment Summit wil take place in November, bringing together “leading project developers, investors, lenders, EPC contractors, and other players to share their perspectives on the market for geothermal finance and investment”.
Despite accounting for a small fraction of the renewable energy market, it sounds like it’s got potential. Here is an article that provides a case study of how geothermal is being used by a family to warm up and cool down their home.
