The total amount of geothermal energy available in the USA to a depth
of 10 km (about 6 miles) is stunningly large - more than 130,000 times
the total energy use in the USA in 2005 (that is not a typo). Not all
of this is economically extractable. However, a large amount of it is
so extractable, and more will become so as technology develops. (The
report gives a wide range of estimates, from 2% to 40%).
Geothermal energy from EGS represents a large, indigenous resource
that can provide base-load electric power and heat at a level that can
have a major impact on the United States, while incurring minimal
environmental impacts. With a reasonable investment in R & D, EGS could
provide 100 GWe or more of cost-competitive generating capacity in the
next 50 years. Further, EGS provides a secure source of power for the
long term that would help protect America against economic
instabilities resulting from fuel price fluctuations or supply
disruptions. Most of the key technical requirements to make EGS work
economically over a wide area of the country are in effect, with
remaining goals easily within reach. This achievement could provide
performance verification at a commercial scale within a 10- to 15-year
period nationwide.
If we can spend 2
trillion dollars on a dim cocksure fratboy's fantasy of manhood in
the Middle East, surely we can find a billion to jumpstart
implementation of something that can completely eliminate the need for
fossil fuels within our children's lifetime.
Can you imagine the improvement to the quality of life in this
world if we weren't pumping billions of dollars a day into the hands
of barbaric medieval religious fanatics?
