...When it comes to solar and wind, the federal government is emphasizing rapid deployment via tax incentives and loan guarantees. Geothermal is mostly getting funding for R&D—lots of investment in new concepts and fewer funds for deployment. Although the energy source qualifies for some nice tax credits, too.The geyser of cash is awakening research and business opportunities that have been sleepy – if not dormant – for years.
“We are seeing a renaissance in geothermal,” said Ed Wall, DOE’s Geothermal Technology program manager in an interview with Environmental Capital.
Just about every type of geothermal project is getting some sort of attention from DOE—from the tried-and-true heat pump to new technology that would generate energy from the hot water that comes out of the ground with every new barrel of crude....MORE
And from Raser via Yahoo Finance:
Raser Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: RZ - News), a leading energy technology company, announced today that the Department of Energy (DOE) has notified the company that its loan guarantee application has been approved to proceed to the next stage of due diligence. The application is for loan guarantees to help finance up to 80% of the expected $190 million project. The guaranteed loan is expected to be used for the construction of approximately 42 MW of gross binary-cycle geothermal power plant capacity near the company’s existing Thermo No. 1 project in Beaver County, Utah. Raser anticipates that, pending completion of additional due diligence by the DOE, drilling and construction will begin later this year....MORE
