There is increasing interest for geothermal energy spurring from all corners of the globe, and the number of geothermal energy countries is increasing according to the GEA (Geothermal Energy Association). 10,715 megawatts of geothermal power is currently being produced in 24 countries, and in 2010 it generated 67,246 GWh of electricity. This is a rise of about 20 percent since 2005. By 2015 the figure is expected to grow even more to 18,500 megawatts, since there is a variety of projects currently underway and many under consideration. Many of these projects are in areas that were before thought to have little resources to exploit.
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There is a lot of heat under the surface of our planet. In fact, 47 percent of the solar energy received by the earth is stored under its surface. This is a great natural source for residential geothermal heating and cooling. Geothermal heating systems can also provide hot water that will cost you almost nothing, as well as superior dehumidification for your home. Geothermal home heating and cooling is a breakthrough on the renewable energy front, especially its cooling aspects.
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Power plants are designed to convert heat to electricity, whether they are fueled by gas, nuclear power, coal, or geothermal energy. In the case of geothermal energy, the earth’s heat is accessed by drilling steam or water wells (‘geo’ means ‘earth’ and ‘thermal’ means ‘heat’). This process is quite similar to oil drilling.
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There is a large number of geothermal energy uses, such as to heat and cool homes and offices, and to provide the energy to run power stations. One of its lesser known uses is in the food processing industry. This energy intensive sector can benefit greatly from this renewable energy source. The immediate question most people ask is what kind of geothermal applications this industry has.
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A very promising geothermal energy usage is in agriculture, as this is an energy intensive sector. Many farmers in geothermal regions are now waking up to the vast potential of geothermal technologies.

Geothermal water is very useful for agriculture. A variety of agricultural applications use geothermal water directly, and they use it to warm greenhouses, to water and heat plants, and to dry crops. Another geothermal energy usage is in irrigation pipes, which can deliver hot water to ground that is otherwise cold. This means that crops can grow which could not normally grow on that land. Geothermal water can also be piped into greenhouses, which maintains humidity and keeps them warm.
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Geothermal energy and its extraction have been very much in the spotlight the last few years, as we are looking for more sources of alternative energy with depleting oil resources and the dangers of burning fossil fuels. While hugely beneficial, this process is not perfect, and here are some of the geothermal environmental impacts it may result in.
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Looking to invest in geothermal energy stocks? You will need all the geothermal energy information you can get. I have written this article to give you some background knowledge on what you should be looking at in the search for geothermal stocks. There are two key things a company you are looking to invest in should have: pending agreements or solid contracts with major utilities and access to high geothermal potential land. Unfortunately, right now there are only a few geothermal companies that are publicly traded which meet these two requirements. But even though it may be slim pickings for investors, potentially profitable geothermal stocks are not that difficult to find.
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Out of all geothermal companies, Ormat Technologies is a giant. The only company that even comes close to matching Ormat is Calpine (CPN), in terms of being an independent power producer (IPP). However, Calpine cannot rival Ormat in any other way. The main business of Calpine is power production, and geothermal energy accounts for less that one percent of that. Ormat, on the other hand, is the standard for the turbines ‘Organic Rankine Cycle’, which are used in producing electricity from the lower temperature geothermal resources. Continue Reading »

Looking into geothermal as a possible investment? Excited about the recent advances in the field and the interest the industry is generating? Massive geothermal investments are being made across the world as we speak, and the more you know about such investment projects the better a position you will be in to invest wisely. Here are 2 important events happening in the geothermal world at the moment:
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Over the last number of years, the U.S. government has focused on wind and solar as the main sources for renewable energy. Other forms of renewable energy went veritably unnoticed.  The US government’s green energy attention is finally turning to geothermal energy and it’s getting the respect it deserves. For 2011, the Department of Energy  unveiled a budget request topping $28 billion, $2.4 billion will be devoted to renewable energy (5% more than the previous year), and out of that the advanced geothermal energy program will receive a 25% increase over the previous year. The Department has found that geothermal has yielded the biggest returns per dollar invested compared to all of the types of green energy, and in addition $3-5 billion was set aside for loan guarantees for advanced geothermal projects such as ETS.  Continue Reading »