So I read another one of those, "The U.S. is the Saudi Arabia of Coal" articles again.
It’s amazing to me that some people still think the coal industry will save us.
In terms of coal production, the US will likely hit its peak between 2020 and 2030. And that has nothing to do with all that legislation coming down from Capitol Hill (as well as individual states) that will continue to make it harder and harder for coal-based generation to prosper.
Of course, the ironic part of all this is that I read the coal article on my way to a geothermal hot spot this weekend.
Incidentally, according to a National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) report, our nation’s geothermal domestic resources possess enough potential to generate a 30,000-year energy supply at our current rate of consumption. The NREL is part of the U.S. Dept. of Energy’s Office of Energy & Renewable Energy.
Walking across what looks like nothing more than a wasteland, scattered with jackrabbit skeletons, rattlesnake holes and a long string of power lines that look completely out of place against the backdrop of hundreds of tiny dust twisters, I realized just how lucky we are.
Not that we’re surprised. The potential for geothermal generation in the U.S. is massive.
And over the next decade you’re going to see more geothermal power plants go online in this country than ever before. (I’ve recently published a research report that goes into greater detail than space allows here. You can view this new report here .)
Of course, even countries that don’t have a fraction of what we can produce here are trying to lock in their own geothermal resources too.
In fact, just last month the Icelandic National Energy Authority signed a deal with German energy company, Energie Baden-Worttemberg that could lead to electricity (produced by geothermal sources in Iceland) being transmitted to Europe along a 1,200-mile seafloor cable that would be capable of carrying energy to Britain’s national grid before reaching Germany.
That’s a lot of work to move some juice, don’t you think?
Fortunately in the US , we have enough geothermal potential to power half the western states with much less logistical headaches.
Granted, we’re not nearly as far along as we should be. But with so many new wells being tested and so many new power plants going online, it’s only a matter of time before this "redheaded stepchild of the RE industry" shines.
And for those who got in…and continue to get in early—the pay-off is spectacular.
[Publisher’s note: One of Jeff’s very first recommendations in Green Chip Stocks was Ormat Technologies, tops in the food chain when it comes to geothermal energy. When Jeff recommended it 2005, Ormat was trading for $16 a share. Today? It’s trading for $34 – a gain of 113% in 2 years.
But Jeff has been searching for stocks lower in the geothermal food chain… and last year he found one. He recommended it to his Green Chip Stocks readers last July. It’s up nearly 200% — and the company expects one of its power plants to go online this August. It trades just shy of $2.50. The time to buy is now. You need to read his latest research report Hellfire – The New Face of Energy Evolution .]
Until next time…
Jeff Siegel
Editor
Green Chip Stocks
