According to a recent survey by the Geothermal Energy Association (GEA),
"2006 Update on US Geothermal Power Production and Development" identified
new power projects in Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, New
Mexico, Nevada, Oregon and Utah. These projects, when developed, would
provide between 1,817.9 MW and 2094.9MW of new electric power for the
grid. That would be enough electricity to meet the needs of cities the
size of Albuquerque, Las Vegas, Sacramento and Seattle combined, GEA
noted.
The document reviews the status of installed power generation and new
activity across the U.S. and provides an update of federal government
programs and incentives plus a summary table of projects under
development.
"New federal and state initiatives to promote geothermal energy are paying
off," said Karl Gawell, GEA's Executive Director. "State renewable
standards coupled with the federal production tax credit are creating a
renaissance in U.S. geothermal power production."
According to Gawell, the most significant catalyst behind this new
industry activity was passage of the Energy Policy Act by Congress (EPAct)
in 2005. EPAct made new geothermal plants eligible for the full federal
production tax credit, previously available only to wind projects. It also
authorized and directed increased funding for research by the Department
of Energy, and gave the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) new legal guidance
and secure funding to address its backlog of geothermal leases and
permits, according to GEA.
"If we can build and sustain the momentum that EPAct has given the
industry, geothermal energy can become a major U.S. energy source. But we
face serious challenges this year in Congress," Gawell warned.
The FY 2007 Budget could undermine several of EPAct's initiatives, causing
a major setback to the industry's progress, GEA asserts. "Instead of
increasing DOE funding, the budget proposes to zero-out geothermal
research. Instead of providing the resources needed for BLM to work off
its 25-year backlog of lease applications, the budget proposes to repeal
this and other provisions of EPAct. Finally, the budget is silent on
extending the production tax credit beyond its current deadline of
December 31, 2007, a date most of these new projects will not be able to
meet," according to Gawell.