The Future of Geothermal Electricity
Steam and hot water reservoirs are just a small part of the geothermal
resource. The Earth's magma and hot dry rock will provide cheap, clean, and
almost unlimited energy as soon as we develop the technology to use them. In
the meantime, because they're so abundant, moderate-temperature sites running
binary-cycle power plants will be the most common electricity producers.
Before geothermal electricity can
be considered a key element of the U.S. energy infrastructure, it must become
cost-competitive with traditional forms of energy. The U.S. Department of
Energy is working with the geothermal industry to achieve $0.03 to $0.05 per
kilowatt-hour. We believe the result will be about 15,000 megawatts of new
capacity within the next decade.