What's happening at PGV
Monday February 5, 2007
Potential of Geothermal energy is enormous
By Kayleen Polichetti
Hawaii is one of the most advanced states in harnessing the earth’s natural heat to generate electricity.
Two recent reports tout Hawaii, along with a handful of Western states, as a leading state in harnessing volcanic heat to produce electricity.
A year-long Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)-based study concluded that geothermal energy had the potential to become a major energy source for the United States. These resources encompass not only easily-developed hydrothermal resources such as geysers, but also the deeper thermal heat found beneath the slopes of volcanic “hot spots” in Hawaii and Alaska. The second report by Daniel J. Fleischmann of the Geothermal Energy Association agrees.
The U.S. is already the largest producer of geothermal energy. In Hawaii, geothermal power is the second largest producer of renewable energy in the state, after Oahu’s waste-to-energy plant. It accounts for nearly 20 percent of the energy resources on Hawaii Island.
Yet this indigenous, renewable resource is often overlooked. The MIT study, released in January 2007 found that geothermal production accounts for about as much as wind and solar combined, and it’s a steadier source. Its attributes include accessibility, a small ecological footprint and low emissions. The study concluded that expanding this increasingly low-cost resource for short-and long-term energy solutions is a sound option that helps diversify the U.S.‘s energy portfolio with a clean, stable and renewable resource.
“Geothermal heat in the U.S. is an enormous resource,” said Karl Gawell, executive director of the Geothermal Energy Association, on the release of the MIT-led study commissioned by the U.S. Department of Energy.
“Geothermal energy represents the largest indigenous resource that can provide base-load electricity and heat at a level that can have an impact on the U.S. while incurring minimal environmental impacts,” says PGV plant manager Mike Kaleikini.
California, Nevada, Utah and Hawaii were cited as top-producing states.
Puna Geothermal Venture, in operation on the island of Hawaii since 1993, is the state’s best possibility for the development of deep geothermal resources.
An analysis of the geothermal potential of Hawaii (Lovekin et al 2006) calculated resource estimates of close to 1400 MW for the Big Island, most of it located in the Kilauea East Rift Zone).
PGV generates 30 MW of electricity, just under 20 percent of the island’s energy needs. It is capable of producing much more.
The state government is seeking other potential uses for available geothermal power and heat that can benefit agriculture and reduce Hawaii’s dependence on energy imports—the state has one of the highest average power rates in the country. Over 90 percent of Hawaii’s energy is powered by imported fossil fuels. Hawaii lags behind the rest of the United States in fossil fuel reduction.
PGV is working on a project with Department of Energy funding an experimental hydrogen program at the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii, which is now in the preliminary stages.