Geothermal industry in United States - Current and future outlook

The US geothermal industry is expanding into new regions with the support of increased funding and technological advancements. Up to 18,900 MW of potentially exploitable geothermal resources were discovered in West Virginia in 2010. The development of coproduced geothermally heated water from hydrocarbon production has led to a number of oil and gas geothermal coproduction projects in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and North Dakota.

In the past year the Department of Energy (DOE) funded geothermal research, development, and demonstration projects in 50 states, including DOE’s Geothermal Technologies Program which received over $50 million in support and completed action on its nearly $400 million in Recovery Act grants.

Congress extended the Section 1603 Tax Credit program created by the stimulus bill for another year; bipartisan legislation extending the 30% Investment Tax Credit for new geothermal projects through 2016 was introduced in both the House and Senate, and legislation restoring payments to counties from geothermal bids and royalties was approved by the House and will hopefully pass the Senate.

“In both the House and Senate, key geothermal supporters won re-election, several by significant margins,” said Gawell. “We believe this shows that their efforts to support more clean, domestic geothermal power production were recognized by their constituents.”

The US geothermal industry is working with collaborative state and regional efforts, as well as other renewable groups, to ensure transmission networks and policies support new geothermal development. The Western Electricity Coordinating Council and the Western Governors’ Association have over $25 million in DOE funding to develop 10 and 20-year transmission plans for the Western Interconnection. GEA also publicly opposed California Proposition 23, which was defeated by California voters in November.

As 2011 unfolds there will be a new surge in geothermal power projects. Around 500 to 700 MW of power projects should enter their final construction phase, adding approximately 3,000 construction jobs. The geothermal sector is also growing in diversity, with almost half of federal stimulus awards going to non-industry entities such as colleges and universities; cities, counties, and other state and local institutions; tribal entities; and The Department of Energy’s National Labs.

New geothermal projects in 2011 will mean over $2 billion in new capital investment. The finance community will gather with top experts and major players in geothermal development and finance for the 2011 Geothermal Energy Finance Forum on Wednesday, February 9, 2011 at the Ritz-Carlton, Battery Park in New York City. The program will report on global growth in geothermal production and use.

Can EU become totally renewable by 2050?

Some respected European politicians and energy experts have recently stated that EU could by 2050 completely satisfy its total energy demand from renewable energy sources. In order to do so, all EU countries would have to work together and make huge investments in further development of renewable energy technologies, especially renewable energy storage technologies. Is such scenario really possible?

To some this may (rightly) seem like some sort of "green utopia" while there are some that are really convinced how this is very much possible, on both economic as well as technological level. This optimism is mostly based on some recent estimates, according to which Europe, together with North Africa has excellent renewable energy potential to produce approximately 140,000 terawatt hours of energy, which is around 20 times the amount of current energy consumption in Europe.

Current EU's renewable energy goal is 20 % of energy coming from renewable energy sources by 2020, which many energy experts believe will be achieved with relative ease, especially since the recent data shows that 60% of all investments in energy sector were transferred towards renewable energy projects.

What some energy experts keep forgetting is the fact that EU is still not united body when it comes to energy policy. You have countries like Germany and Spain that are making huge investments in renewable energy sector, France meanwhile continues to further invest in new nuclear power plants, while central European countries still invest in thermal power plants based on fossil fuels and look reluctant to drastically reduce CO2 emissions.

The other important part in this story is the fact that many countries are still not ready to give Brussels all the power in making joint energy decisions because this could put in jeopardy some bilateral energy agreements that these countries have with countries like U.S. and China, which enable these countries to get certain energy resources under privileged conditions.

Some energy experts even dream about Pan-European renewable energy network that would reach entire EU by connecting Spain's solar and wind power projects with geothermal power plants in Italy, offshore wind farms in Britain and Denmark, and hydropower projects in Scandinavia.

Renewable energy projects of this magnitude look highly unlikely in EU because differences among countries still look like a too big obstacle in making such important decisions. Thus totally renewable EU by 2050 is just a nice dream that has more to do with the science fiction than actually being possible in real life.

Building new nuclear power plants - Drawbacks and benefits

Since U.S. obviously plans to build new nuclear power plants in years to come I reckon it would be good idea to discuss the main drawbacks and benefits of nuclear power plants. The most important issue is of course the safety of the new nuclear power plants. When it comes to the safety of new nuclear power plants then it's important to say that nuclear power plants have significantly improved their safety in the last few decades, and nuclear disasters like Chernobyl and Three Miles Island are almost impossible to happen again.

All new nuclear power plants need to satisfy maximum safety standards, and the newest nuclear reactor designs really ensure maximum safety by applying the concept of the negative feedback loop, which ensures that as the nuclear reactor's power output increases, it becomes more and more harder to squeeze any more power out of it, meaning that nuclear chain reaction that could lead to nuclear reactor explosion is almost impossible to happen. Though this design is not totally foolproof it is much safer compared to the older designs. Of course there are still many older nuclear power plants that still use the older design, but even they ensure the maximum safety as there hasn't been any major accident since Chernobyl.

Nuclear power plants do not need fossil fuels to produce electricity, and this means that they do not release harmful carbon emissions that contribute to pollution and climate change problem. Since there are no carbon emissions nuclear power is also considered clean energy source just like solar, wind or geothermal energy.

In order to properly operate nuclear power plants require nuclear fuel. Nuclear fuel mostly used in nuclear power plants in uranium though some nuclear power plants also use plutonium. Uranium is plentiful in United States, and building more nuclear power plants would therefore contribute to better energy independence as there would be reduced need for importing expensive foreign fuels.

Nuclear power plants operate very efficiently and reliably. Their efficiency can be even compared to coal power plants, and once they are built they are extremely reliable given that there's enough uranium to feed them, and as already said there is plenty of uranium in United States.

The main disadvantage of nuclear power plants is no doubt nuclear radioactive waste that has lifespan of more than 5000 years so more new nuclear power plants will mean more radioactive waste, and current nuclear waste storage options definitely do not ensure totally safe storage for the next 5000 years or so.

Another disadvantage are relatively high construction costs, and there is also the high number of licenses that need to be obtained prior and during the construction which significantly prolong construction time but are needed to ensure the maximum safety of new nuclear power plants.

With the increased number of nuclear power plants there would also be the greater possibility of terrorist attacks so nuclear power plants need not only to ensure the maximum safety against nuclear reactor explosion but also against possible terrorist attacks.

Renewable energy jobs statistics - United States

The U.S. government funding of $2 billion dollars should be enough to ensure more than 1500 permanent jobs in US solar power industry.

In U.S., solar power installer has an average salary between $40,000-50,000 per year, while solar power engineer double this amount.

It has been calculated than in the last decade the number of jobs in U.S. solar power industry has increased by more than 20 percent.

The average wind energy technician salary in United States is between $30,000-40,000 per year.

At the end of 2009, there were around 95,000 people employed in US solar power industry.

In February 2009, the U.S. Congress passed an $800 billion stimulus package which should in years to come create around two million jobs in renewable energy industry, mostly in solar power industry.

According to some recent studies renewable energy jobs, together with energy efficiency jobs should create more than 4 million employments by the year 2030.

The 2008 study by the American Solar Energy Society (ASES) predicts 37 million jobs and $4.29 billion in annual revenue by 2030 from renewable energy and energy efficiency in U.S.

It has been estimated that around 95% of all renewable energy jobs are in private industry.

Renewable energy sectors that account for the majority of green jobs in United States include solar, wind and biofuels.

Wind farm manager in United States earns an average salary between $70,000 to $90,000 per year.

US ethanol industry currently employs more than 200,000 people despite the recent struggle.

Biomass and biofuels industry currently employs around 350,000 people in United States.

It is estimated that wind power sector in Iowa currently employs close to 4000 people.

Solar energy industry is most developed in California where it employs more than 30,000 people. In 2009 alone, California added more than 5000 new renewable energy jobs, most of which in solar industry.

Oregon has lately experienced real boom in new green jobs, especially in solar power industry. Solar power industry in Oregon currently employs more than 1000 people, mostly in manufacturing solar power gear.

It is expected that the number of solar energy jobs in United States would grow by 26% compared to 2010.

More than half of US solar energy companies expect to add new jobs in 2011.

In 2011 there should be around 3000 new geothermal energy jobs in United States, mostly in California and Nevada.

By the year 2020 the US biofuel industry should account to around 800,000 green energy jobs (both direct and indirect).

U.S. hydropower industry currently accounts for approximately 250,000 direct jobs.

How to build wind turbine blades at home?

Large wind farms are installed in many parts of the world but the popularity of small wind turbines among individuals and commercial businesses is also growing as small wind turbines are now increasingly used to supplement energy consumption.

If we look at the current numbers and expert predictions we can see that 2008 revenue of $165 million in small wind turbines industry will grow approximately 2,5 times to $412 million by 2013 if estimates from Pike's Small Wind Power report are correct.

But why are small wind turbines becoming so popular? The main reason of their popularity is the fact that on a cost-per-watt basis many are finding small wind turbines to be less expensive than solar panels, so they are economically the most acceptable way to go for clean energy.

So if you decide to give small wind turbine a chance then you also need to know that you can save some money by building wind turbine blades at home.

You can build you homemade wind generator blades from different materials but the most commonly used materials are PVC and wood. When it comes to choosing between these two materials then I would suggest you go with the PVC because PVC represents better value for your money compared to wood. It is much easier to balance wind turbine blades made from PVC compared to the ones made of wood which will in the end result in less time needed to built them. Also, wood is less water protectant, and once wood starts absorbing moisture you can forget about balanced blades because instead of balance you will see lot of wobbles, and once your blades start wobbling they'll be far less efficient. So the PVC is definitely the recommended option.

So now that we have decided to go with the PVC we need to determine the size of blades. It is vital that you measure everything perfectly because by ensuring perfect measures you will ensure the maximum efficiency in harnessing wind energy. If your blades are no more than 30" in length the 4" diameter PVC should be sufficient, and if you plan to build blades over 30" in length then you should definitely consider to use the stronger 6" PVC pipe.

Balancing the blades can seem like a very difficult task. But there is rather simple solution to overcome this problem. You should put numbers 1,2,3 on each of your blades, and then give your blades a decent spin. After a couple of spins you will see which blade ends up most often at the bottom, and then you simply trim a little bit of the end of that blade off, and then give it another spin. This shouldn't take much of your time.

To conclude, with just the basic technical skills you can build your own wind turbine blades in couple of hours time. It's as easy as that. Good luck.

Domestic oil drilling - Good or bad energy option?

A not so long ago president Obama backed new drilling for oil and natural gas off parts of the US coastline. This support was supposedly a president's idea to decrease nation's energy dependence on foreign oil import but can this idea really work, and will U.S. really be less dependent on foreign oil with domestic offshore oil drilling?

Many energy experts agree that domestic offshore oil drilling is not only unwise energy option from environmental but also from economical point of view. Why? Because it is very likely that domestic oil will in the end cost even more than the foreign oil, and given the current economic times we live in there won't be many people that will be thrilled to support the idea of buying more expensive energy option just because it is domestic, heck if that was the case than we wouldn't see the cheap stuff from China everywhere we turn to.

Capital costs of these projects are projected to be very high, and U.S. still needs to test potential sites by making drilling tests and some other required tests and studies that of course don't come cheap either. And once domestic oil starts flowing you can be sure that these upfront costs will be included in final oil price making it more expensive compared to foreign fuel option.

How many of you would buy more expensive oil just because of its domestic origin? In today's economy patriotism doesn't pay off, and cheaper solutions are always the popular ones. In reality, the only thing that could make people buy more expensive domestic oil is some government regulation, and this definitely wouldn't go well with public.

Renewable energy is much better option, and instead of drilling for domestic oil U.S. should put more efforts to develop renewable energy technologies in order to make renewable energy projects more feasible. Yes, renewable energy option is still a rather expensive option but offshore oil drilling doesn't come cheap either. Therefore, renewable energy is definitely the better option, if not for anything else then because of its environmental benefits.

But U.S. still fails to realize this rather simple logic, and this is really the main reason why U.S. is currently well behind China in global clean energy race.

Global oil statistics

At the end of 2009, there were 1333.1 billion barrels of proved oil reserves (this number doesn't include Canadian oil sands) according to the BP's Statistical Review of World Energy.

Russia is currently the world's largest oil producer. In 2009, Russia produced in average 9.93 million barrels of oil per day for a total of 494.2 million tons, which is around 12% of world's total oil production.

According to the data from IEA China is currently the world's largest oil consumer. In 2009 China consumed 2.252 billion tons of oil equivalent, which is about 4% more than the U.S., which consumed 2.170 billion tons of oil equivalent. It is also expected that China’s oil demand will likely rise by more than 5% in 2010.

In 2009, China's oil consumption increased by 6.7 percent while US oil consumption declined by 4.9 percent (mostly because of recession).

According to the data from the US Energy Information Administration, approximately 4.1 billion barrels of oil are held in strategic reserves, of which 1.4 billion is government-controlled.

International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts that the global oil demand in 2010 would grow by 170,000 barrels a day to 86.5 million barrels, mostly because of developing countries which depend on oil to continue their economic growth.

Besides United States and China, the list of five largest oil consumers in the world also includes Japan, Russia and India.

Saudi Arabia is currently the world’s second largest crude oil producer behind Russia. It is estimated that Saudi Arabia currently produces around 8.5 million barrels of oil per day.

World crude oil demand grew an average of 1.76% per year from 1994 to 2006.

Transportation sector has the highest oil consumption rates, accounting to 55% of oil use worldwide, and for approximately 68.9% of the oil used in the United States.

Saudi Arabia's largest oil fields are now declining at a rate of around 8% per year. The average global rate of field decline is at about 4.5% per year.

In 2005, global oil production reached an all-time high of 73,720,000 barrels per day.

Oil had the largest price on June 30th, 2008 crossing over $143 a barrel.

Top five countries in oil reserves category are Saudi Arabia, Canada, Iran, Iraq, and United Arabian Emirates.