Latest Updates: geothermal energy RSS

• Tata Power Pitches In For Geothermal Energy
  Srikant Rajan 12:54:06 pm on September 12, 2008 | 1 | # |
  Tags: australia, australian geothermal energy association, geoscience, geothermal energy, gujrat, hot rocks, india, Tata power

  Australian hot rocks now have an Indian hand on them.India based , Tata Power has been allotted 11% of Australian based  Geodynamics , estimated to be nearly 40 million.Geodynamics managing director Gerry Grove-White says that the deal is to build a formidable financial position for making future investment decisions and also serve as a platform for sharing technical knowledge and exploring opportunities outside Australia.Seems that Geodynamics is looking for some action the $US4.2 billion 4000MW "   ultra mega power project   " in the state of Gujarat in India.

  Geodynamics is currently drilling its third deep geothermal energy well near Innamincka in the Cooper Basin in far north South Australia. The company has also conducted flow tests between its first two wells, thus advancing a step ahead in proving the concept of engineered geothermal energy production.

   

• Geothermal For Cheaper Batteries
  Srikant Rajan 03:11:58 pm on August 26, 2008 | 0 | # |
  Tags: batteries, electric cars, ev, geothermal energy, lithium, simbol mining

  Electric cars are touted as green alternatives for satisfying transportation needs as compared to fossil fuel powered vehicles.However in order to promote their faster adoption we need to find cost effective and eco friendly alternatives for manufacturing of electric car components.Batteries, form a critical and also pose challenges in economic manufacturing.This is particularly on account of the expensive lithium used in their production.

  Simbol Mining, is presently researching cheaper and cost effective methods to mine lithium for use in batteries.The process used involves tapping into geothermal waters that have had an extended period of contact with earths crust.This extended contact results in dissolution of minerals and metals within the water.This water is further processed for re-extraction of metals .

   

• Hot Rocks For Energy
  Srikant Rajan 12:07:32 pm on August 22, 2008 | 0 | # |
  Tags: australia, australian geothermal energy association, geoscience, geothermal energy, hot rocks

  An Australian Geothermal Energy Association predicts a potential output of 2200MW of power by 2020 from geothermal energy. Geoscience Australia has further mapped Australian geothermal energy using data from decades of drilling and exploration.Says Anthony Budd of Geoscience “  One percent of reserves would produce 26,000 years of energy supplies  “

  Australia is worlds leading coal exporter and nearly 77 % of its electricity requirement is obtained by coal based power. 2200 MW is nearly 40 % of Australian renewable energy target of 2020 .No doubt the investment required for tapping geothermal reserves would be significant .However this investment makes sense as it would achieve the twin requirements of providing energy sufficiency for Australia in addition of addressing the challenge of climate change and global warming .

   

• Go Green For a Better Economy
  Srikant Rajan 03:31:42 pm on June 18, 2008 | 1 | # |
  Tags: carbon credits, cleantech, energy independence, geothermal energy, tidal energy, wind power

  "Decarbonized" nations have strong economies.Sweden, for instance had announced a carbon tax in the year 1991 .This lead to a rush of entrepreneurs in the cleantech sector; generating power from wind,sun,and tidal energy.Even garbage,agricultural wastes were used for energy generation.As a result Sweden’s growth rates surged in the corresponding period.Spurred by this success, Sweden is now aiming at complete elimination of fossil fuel based power by year 2020.Iceland ,another nation was dependent on imported coal and oil for nearly 70% of its energy needs during 1970’s.Today Iceland has successfully tapped geothermal energy and hydroelectric power for its energy needs.90% of all housing in the country is heated with geothermal energy; the remainder being heated mainly with electricity. The majority of the country’s electricity (80%) is generated using hydropower; the remainder being based on geothermal power. The immediate fallout of this energy independence is a fourth ranking of Iceland, in the most affluent nations of the earth by the International Monetary Fund.

  And finally ,California notorious for its commitment towards environment protection is one of US’s most energy efficient states and also possesses a robust economy .Studies have also revealed that US has greater domestic energy resources compared to Iceland or Sweden and an estimated second-largest geothermal energy resource in the world.Give these facts perhaps the republicans can have a rethink of their continued support to oil companies.