Beneath the Earth's surface, deep reservoirs of steam and hot water provide a vast potential source of geothermal energy. This energy is used by some power plants in western states to generate electricity.
But in much of the United States, accessing geothermal heat requires deep drilling. This has long been a technical and financial barrier to developing this renewable resource.
Beard: “But things have changed dramatically in the last 10, 15 years. It has to do with the massive boom in technology that we had in the oil and gas shale boom. So there have been huge advances in drilling technology.
Jamie Beard is the founder of Project Inner Space, a non-profit organization dedicated to developing the geothermal industry.
beard: “These technologies that have been developed over the last 10 or 15 years, when transferred to geothermal, can significantly reduce costs and also speed up the drilling process and allow us to drill places we couldn’t drill before. … That’s an asset we need to take advantage of.
So her team is working to bring renewable energy advocates and funders together with fossil fuel companies.
Bridging the gap between these often polarized groups could spur rapid development of this clean and renewable energy, she said.
Report source: Sarah Kennedy/ChavoBart Digital Media
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