A new report by the Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) which is based in the USA shows strong growth in new geothermal power projects continuing into 2009. "There has been a 25% increase in new geothermal projects from August of 2008, when the last GEA report was released. There is also an increase in overall production potential by 35%," said Kara Slack, the report's author.
The report also notes that the number of states producing geothermal power has increased from 7 to 8 with the addition of Wyoming. "Geothermal power projects continue to move forward, with new projects being added at an increasing rate," according to Karl Gawell, executive director of GEA.
The report identifies a total of 126 projects under development in 12 states with the potential to put 5500 MW of new geothermal power on line. New geothermal power projects were identified in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, and Washington.
"The report shows a substantial movement of projects into the later stages of development, the permitting and construction phases," Gawell points out. "If federal and state governments give them the support and priority they need, most of these projects could be on line in a few years." GEA estimates that bringing these projects on line could help economic recovery, spurring as many as 100 000 new jobs.
Copies of U.S. Geothermal Power Production and Development Update, March 2009 are available to download free of charge from the GEA Web site at: http://www.geo-energy.org.
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