US geothermal energy capacity expected to triple in 5 years

Electricity-generation capacity from geothermal energy in the US is expected to triple within five years, buoyed by government stimulus spending, the Geothermal Energy Association said.
More than 6,400 MW of geothermal capacity is under development to add to 3,153 MW that's already built, the Washington-based association said.

Geothermal energy, renewable power that taps underground heat and steam, is being spurred by spending from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Planned projects expanded by 46 % in a year as the government's recovery spending added up to $ 400 mm in funding to the industry, the group said.
"While stimulus money has been driving much of our recent growth, we are also seeing that as geothermal technology pushes forward the economics of these projects really make sense," GEA Executive Director Karl Gawell said. The future is "promising double-digit, year-over-year expansion."

With plants taking three to five years to build, capacity in coming years will be almost 10 GW, enough to supply 10 mm homes, the association said.
The group last December said geothermal electricity-generation capacity rose 6 % in 2009 from a year earlier as Enel and Ormat Industries built new plants. Six plants added about 177 MW of capacity and created 750 full-time jobs after $ 800 mm was invested, it said.