New Study Finds Geothermal Energy the Most Efficient Renewable Energy Alternative

www.businesswire.com...

According to a new study from NYU Stern, geothermal and wind energy are more efficient, and are yielding greater returns on the R&D invested in them, than most other renewable energy alternatives.

NYU Stern Professor Melissa Schilling, an expert in strategic management and technology and innovation management, finds that the cost of generating electricity with geothermal or wind energy is a fraction of the cost of solar energy. More important, the performance of both is improving much more per dollar of R&D invested in them than solar technologies. This is the first study to explore the trajectory of performance improvement of renewable energy alternatives.

Geothermal energy could become cheaper than fossil fuels with R&D spending of as little as $3.3 billion.

In this latest shocking news, it has been found that the governments are making terrible choices and spending their money on all the wrong things.

Again.



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the issue is there are far too few accessable geysers and hot springs to make the energy needed.

also it would be a very volatile power plant. you should not build on something you cannot control. how to you put a lid on a volcano anyway?

Geothermal energy is beneath everyone's feet. You do not have to locate a powerplant atop a volcano or next to a hot spring although those locations are attractive in spite of their usual locations near quake prone areas. The biggest expense is drilling a large hole into the earth that could be thousands of feet deep in order to reach the heated area of the earths crust. Water is then pumped down into the inside of the pipe and steam escapes from the outer pipe jacket where it is enters machinery that regulates pressure and then powers turbines that produce electricity. The water is then condensed, gathered and pumped back down the pipe where the cycle repeats. Completely clean, closed cycle and self contained. This would be the optimum form of energy.

Geothermal I can see working. Wind not so much. The wind doesn't blow all the time. Whereas the earth is constantly warm near the mantel.

And yes, I agree the government is spending more money on needless things, but they can't let their family and friends go broke you know. God forbid they are actually subjected to the same laws of economics as the rest of us.

reply to post by Hastobemoretolife
You're right. The wind doesn't blow all the time. The sun doesn't shine every day. But we should explore, and use all of these resources, rather than depending on just one. (I'm not a greenie. I think we still need to be drilling for oil and natural gas, as well as mining for coal.)
By the way, global warming is a farce. Climate change is not. I wonder if any one has ever considered there might be a brief warming trend, before we go into another ice age?

reply to post by mizzu


it all works in theory...

reply to post by kettlebellysmith


I know exactly what you are saying. But think about how much land is used up to build a viable wind farm. It will take 3/4 of the land mass equal to the size of the city it is powering. I know that isn't as clear as what it should be, Take San Fransisco it would take an area 3/4 the size of it to build a wind farm big enough to power the city.

I'm not a greenie either, but when you factor in the maintenance of the wind farms then you also have to factor in, how fast the wind is going to blow to produce the electricity needed.

Wind power as been around for a very long time, it just isn't viable. It is a waste of time. I agree we need to explore alternative energies, but they must be viable for the long term with a low cost of maintenance Such as Nuclear and geothermal. All the increases in turbine technology that the wind power will use will make the Nuclear and Geothermal energies even more efficient.

I'm not saying they don't have their place, but wind like solar is only good for supplemental energy generation.

Well if it takes 3/4ths the size of the city for the wind farm, couldnt you cut that in half with the addition of wind towers in everyones back yard andmaybe then spread the others around the city in a circle? Make it smaller that way instead of just sticking the whole thing in one area and saying ' oh look how pretty this huge farm of windmills is'.

Just a thought, forgive me if it isnt worth doing.

reply to post by anubis9311


Well the problem with that is the wind turbines used are very large. Also another issue is the "not in my backyard" crowd.

Also that complicates the power grid. Not to mention not everybody has a yard. Such as San Fran its another "concrete jungle" so to speak, there really isn't any room to put the turbines. Then there is also the risk factor of a blade falling off.

You also have to remember that Wind Technology has been around for a very long time. When the wind doesn't blow no electricity is being generated. Then you also have to take into account natural causes such as Hurricanes, Earthquakes, tornado's.

Even though the technology is getting better it still won't be the answer. The other problem is that they are trying to develop power generation on a large scale to keep everybody connected to a grid.

They really need to work on ways to independently power our homes and businesses. But that doesn't work in favor of special interest or the government because they lose control.

It has to be done on a individual level,if for than no other reason than to avoid the cap and trade tax.use geothermal heat to heat your home(no you don't need to live by a geyser) wind energy to offset electric(it is used to subsidize your electric you always need a backup source)and solar and many more.edit you can almost eliminate your utilities instead of having them double next year.

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reply to post by genius/idoit


Good idea.

And cool Stee Jans reference in your sig BTW

here is a geothermal system,it fits in almost any back yard:
here is a home turbine
www.skystreamenergy.com..." target='_blank' class='tabOff'/> they even have them that attache to your house..we all know solar but wind and solar are lacking in there ability to generate enough power to be worthwhile.

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reply to post by MajorDisaster


thanks man! your the first to get it .

reply to post by genius/idoit


Video in your links

reply to post by Kaytagg

your point? edit for punctuation..edit for spelling (on punctuation)ah I figured it out and fixed the link thanks alot


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[edit on 17-7-2009 by genius/idoit]

Originally posted by anubis9311
Well if it takes 3/4ths the size of the city for the wind farm, couldnt you cut that in half with the addition of wind towers in everyones back yard andmaybe then spread the others around the city in a circle? Make it smaller that way instead of just sticking the whole thing in one area and saying ' oh look how pretty this huge farm of windmills is'.

Just a thought, forgive me if it isnt worth doing.

What we have done here in Oklahoma is put them along roads so they
are easy to service, and on farm land so that cows and crops can still
be there and the land is still 99% usable.

Our latest turbines are 1.5 - 2.0 Mega-watts each and we are in the middle
of the Saudi Arabia of Wind.

Wind power density map

The coasts and high plains are the place to put the windmills,
offshore wind alone could power most of the US.

Wind is not the total answer, but it is something we can do now that
can be setup in a way that the land can still be used for farming, etc.

These large patches of "fly over" country as the liberals call it
are a great place to setup windmills.

Just in the top ten US land locked states they have 1 Tera Watt of
wind potential at 50 meters and lower.

The offshore wind potential is higher than that.

Also the 200,000+ square mills of desert is a good place for
solar towers like solar one or SEGs.

Geothermal could potentially power the planet forever as can
the jetstream and ocean currents like the antarctic circumpolar current
that is over 100 times the flow of all the rivers on earth combined.

Disadvantages of geothermal energy

Geothermal has one thing they need to work out and that is the
sites cooling down after awhile.







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