U.S. GEOTHERMAL TEARS AT RED TAPE

Geothermal Power Gathering Steam in U.S.

September 2, 2014 (OilPrice via NASDAQ)

“…[F]or various reasons -- including logistics, economics and permitting issues -- geothermal has not even come close to reaching its potential. That could be changing…[ U.S. House and Senate subcommittees discussed permitting needs and took up] geothermal bills that may hasten its development and remove some bureaucratic obstacles…[A] House subcommittee heard that…the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires geothermal developers to submit over 175 “document sets” for each project, which could mean hundreds of thousands of pages…[and] that geothermal power projects [which are not limited by the variability of solar and wind] can take as many as seven years to develop, compared to three to five years for oil and gas projects, and just 18 months for solar or wind start-ups…The Geothermal Energy on Federal Lands Act would streamline the process…[A]nother proposed bill would promote the development of renewable energy on public lands…Geothermal legislation is also moving forward at the state level [in California and Nevada]…The economics of geothermal exploration can also be [a riskier proposition than building a solar installation or wind farm, and the payouts are obviously much less than drilling for oil or natural gas but]…geothermal appears set to finally take off in the U.S.” click here for more

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