May 19 - U.S. Newswire

California should set a goal of producing 50 percent of its energy from renewable energy resources by 2025, the head of the national geothermal trade association, Geothermal Energy Association (GEA), told state energy officials. The remarks were made at the opening session of the California Geothermal Summit being held at the University of California (UC) Davis Alumni Center.

"California officials, including the Governor, talk about driving vehicles powered with new fuels, but they need to make the commitment to produce those fuels in California using 100 percent renewable energy," Karl Gawell, executive director of GEA told the summit attendees.

To achieve the 50 percent renewable energy goal, Gawell also called upon the state to expand its use of geothermal energy for direct uses, such as heating buildings and installing geothermal heat pumps, ten-fold within 20 years. He called for a "Green-G" certification program to recognize and encourage more geothermal use by homes, businesses, and schools across the state.

Gawell urged California to "clean-up the power grid and avoid having to build new nuclear power plants by tapping the state's underutilized natural advantage -- its geothermal resources."

According to Gawell, 25 percent of the state's system power should come from geothermal resources by 2025. Doing so would add capacity and improve the reliability of the state's power system, he argued.

"The technical potential for geothermal energy in California and nearby areas exceeds the state's total electricity demand today, and the total electricity demand expected in the coming decades," Gawell told the audience. "Its time the state utilized its natural advantage in geothermal energy."

For more information about the California Geothermal Collaborative and the California Geothermal Summit, visit: http:// cgec.ucdavis.edu/

For information about the Geothermal Energy Association visit: http://www.geo-energy.org/

Gawell will be in California and available for interviews or comments Monday May 22 through Wednesday May 24. Please contact Marilyn Nemzer at 415-435-4574 for an interview or contact information.

http://www.usnewswire.com

(c) 2006 U.S. Newswire. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.