Utilities <3 Geothermal

Just ran across an interesting article about how utilities are beginning to invest big in geothermal power: nearly $3 billion last year. Granted it costs more than that to build a new oil refinery, but still $3B is not exactly 'chump change.' Especially when it is coming from sources like Warren Buffett and Google!

The U.S. is the leader in geothermal energy, with approximately 3,000 MW of electricity coming from geothermal sources (mostly in California). For comparison, the average coal plant generates about 667 MW of electricity per year.

With additional investment, some great R&D, and government incentives, the geothermal industry is bound to see significant expansion in the near-term.

Read the article: Utilities putting new energy into geothermal sources

Image source: Department of Energy