Report: Geopowering the West
Geopowering the West is a January 2006 study issued by the Western Governor’s Association. It is the most comprehensive study on geothermal in the Western U.S. Washington pulls in at 50 MWe at five sites (though most analysis elsewhere is higher, this number has become the norm for the state). The report, presented here in full Geothermal-full.pdf characterizes the basis for California (2,500 MW), Nevada (1,500), Idaho (860 ) and Oregon (380). The next round of states that need analysis are Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. The conclusions of the Task Force include:
The western states share a capacity of almost 13,000 megawatts (MW) of geothermal energy that can be developed on specific sites within a reasonable timeframe (e.g., by 2025). Geothermal power plants, ranging from 10 to over 200 MW (depending on the resource), can supply enough electricity to meet the needs of 10,000 to 200,00 homes respectively.Of these, 5,600 MW are considered by the geothermal industry to be viable for commercial development within the next ten years; i.e., by about 2015. (To put this into perspective, the U.S. had 2,828 MW of geothermal power capacity on-line in 2005.) This is a commercially achievable capacity for new generation and does not include the much larger potential of unknown, undiscovered resources.
The 5,600 MW is estimated to be developable at busbar costs in a range of levelized costs of energy (LCOE) of about 5.3 to 7.9 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh).
Discussion Area - Leave a Comment