Posted on 11/20/2024 9:44:40 AM PST by ChicagoConservative27
Two bills making it easier to tap the Earth’s heat for on-demand clean power have passed the House.
The CLEAN Act and HEATS Act remove many of the federal permitting regulations currently necessary to drill for geothermal power plants, which produce electricity by drawing on the boiling-hot rock miles below the earth’s surface.
As House energy bills go, the measures were notably bipartisan. All Republicans voted for them, with 18 Democrats crossing the aisle to vote with the GOP on the HEATS Act, and 31 on the CLEAN Act.
If they make it through the Senate, the CLEAN Act and HEATS Act could allow a new boom in geothermal drilling — an expansion that could buttress the expanding clean power ecosystem currently built on more intermittent forms of energy such as wind and solar.
Research from the Biden Department of Energy has found that $25 billion in near-term geothermal investment could start a rolling snowball of geothermal innovation that could ultimately power hundreds of millions of U.S. homes.
(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
Butt, butt, butt...... solar panels and wind mills.
drill baby drill still sounds sweet
The only geothermal power plants that I know of in my area, are at the South end of the Salton Sea.
Lots of countries use geothermal power including the US. Probably in limited locations, but why not.
“More stuck on stupid”
Based on the short description the bill tells the NIMBYs to find a life elsewhere. I’m cool with that, although it needs to be expanded to oil and gas.
Any bills from congress makes me Leary
I've got neighbors who have relied on a heat pump with a buried heat exchange grid (the ground is temperature-stable about eight feet down around here) for more than 30 years. It's good for heating and cooling, and as the husband put it, they only get one bill. Because heat is being moved, it has the apparent effect of being more than 100% efficient.
Don't argue about that, you'll just make yourself look stupid.
This bill is just another kickback / boondoggle / taxpayer gift to some big corrupt outfit which will pay off the parasitic politicians with "donations" to their "foundations", while virtue-signaling.
The Oregon Institute of Technology in Klamath Falls is uses geothermal. Most of the housing in the surrounding area near campus also have their own geothermal wells.
Oregon Institute of Technology’s Klamath Falls campus dedicated its new geothermal electric project today in a ceremony on the OIT campus. The event was followed by tours of the power plant.
This “small” power plant is the first geothermal combined heat and power plant in Oregon, and the only geothermal electric plant currently operating in the state. It has a maximum capacity output of 280 kilowatts gross power utilizing existing wells on the campus. The small plant is located in the southeast corner of the campus near the production wells.
Speakers at today’s event were: John Lund, professor emeritus and director of the Geo-Heat Center; Oregon State Rep. Bill Garrard; Peter West, Director of Energy Programs for Energy Trust of Oregon; and Bob Simonton, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Capital Programs, Oregon University System. Others attending the event were elected officials, Energy Trust of Oregon representatives, OIT students, and local dignitaries. The Klamath Union High School Jazz band performed.
Geothermal energy is one of the many renewable energy technologies gaining recognition as energy independence and conservation catches hold in the public imagination. This is the first geothermal combined heat and power plant in Oregon and the only such project currently generating electricity in the state. OIT – and the Klamath Falls area – has a long history of geothermal utilization. OIT has used geothermal energy since the mid-1960s for heating buildings and sidewalks.
A second “big” power plant is planned, too. The 1.2 megawatt project will utilize a 5,300-foot deep well drilled in 2009. The big project is expected to be complete in 2012.
OIT is home to the Geo-Heat Center, a national clearinghouse for geothermal energy established in 1975.
I read once...not long ago,in fact...that most of the electricity used in Quebec is generated by hydroelectric plants.
The problem for the United States is suitable places for geothermal are not near population centers.
The Aleutian Islands have lots of geothermal for instance but not many people live there.
As the Coasties used to tell me there’s a girl behind every tree up there (there are no trees).
Geothermal plants are very practical when you have the geothermal resources.
Reno gets a lot of it’s power from geothermal and the Reno area can supply much of Northern California.
IMHO, it is better than having depleted Uranium sitting over at the Seabrook Nuclear Power plant for the next thousand years.
I AM IN FAVOR OF NUCLEAR POWER. I am also in favor of using natural gas to burn, heat water, create stream and turn a turbine.
Especially the bipartisan ones
“Any bills from congress makes me Leary”
Fair point - I’ve only seen a sentence or two...who the hell knows what else in it.
Yes, the never ending supply flowing down the Saint Lawrence River not only powers Quebec. They have enough excess power to sell to our New England supplier Eversource.
Which is why they proposed building the Northern Pass transmission line through northern NH to connect with the grid in MA. CT & RI. Where you guys need power to replace your closed Nuclear plants. However, the people of NH did not want it to ruin their view due to the NIMBY effect. SO, they are building the transmission line through Maine. Which will still end up connecting to the grid to bring you the juice you need.
You are also going to get some of the largest wind turbines in the world built in Nantucket Sound. I saw one of the towers in June 2023 sitting on a ship in Newport harbor. This was a steel tower to sit on the bottom of the sea bed. Then the wind mill will eventually stick up 6-700’ out of the water. Lucky you !
Geothermal could actually be practical if the geology is there for it. Iceland gets almost all of its electricity from geothermal energy.
The obvious best spot in the US is Yellowstone. The problems are its a long way from power hungry cities and we will obviously never be allowed to build big power plants in a national park.
In most places you have to drill miles into the earth to achieve this. The cost is massive.
I was all for it until I read that line.
Get the government out of the way but that 25 billion must come from private investment not us taxpayers.
If the DOEs research is valid there should be no problem raising the funds. But, as I expect the research is bogus (like most government research) then no investment capital will show up.
That’s because the libtards decided that geothermal was verboten. Possibly in part due to the fact that they’re not obvious virtue signals - geothermal plants can be very small; one that can power a house may have an above-ground footprint no larger than a detached two car garage.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.