

In April 2008, exploratory drilling began at Newberry Volcano in Oregon. It also authorized and directed increased funding for research by the Department of Energy, and enabled the Bureau of Land Management to address its backlog of geothermal leases and permits.
#EARTHNET GEOTHERMAL FULL#
This Act made new geothermal plants eligible for the full federal production tax credit, previously available only to wind power projects and certain kinds of biomass. The most significant development catalyst is the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Įstimated subterranean temperatures at a depth of 6 kilometers A second similar plant was to open in 2013. Hudson Ranch I geothermal plant, a 50 MW plant opened in May 2012. In the Salton Sea, as of 2001, 15 geothermal plants were producing electricity. is now an area of rapid geothermal development. Near Several small power plants were built during the late 1980s in the Basin and Range geologic province in Nevada, southeastern Oregon, southwestern Idaho, Arizona and western Utah. The original turbine lasted for more than 30 years. It exploits the largest dry steam field, 116 km (72 mi) north of San Francisco. The Geysers system grew into the world's largest, with an output of 750 MW.

Pacific Gas and Electric opened the US' first commercial geothermal power plant at The Geysers in California in September 1960, initially producing eleven megawatts of net power. Paleo-Indians first used geothermal hot springs for warmth, cleansing, and minerals. Geothermal drilling at The Geysers in California, 1977.Īrchaeological evidence documents that geothermal resources have been in use in the US for more than 10,000 years.
