Comments on: Sierra Geothermal Power: CEO Interview

By: michael moigutwo kiptoo

michael moigutwo kiptoo — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 10:31:03 +0000

ye thought of an alternative source of power is great. i live next to a hot spring (Lake Bogoria in rift valley of Kenya) and i pay dearly for the conventional source of fuel. if somebody can come up with an alternative that will be great news.

By: Steve Selverston

Steve Selverston — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 04:23:21 +0000

Dave,
Skepticism is key, I agree. But we have to remember that geothermal technology is improving steadily. We can expect costs to come down, and we can also expect a healthy learning curve with enough R&D. I’ve never heard of “hot wet rocks,” but I think you’re referring to “hydrathermal” sources.
Steve Selverston

By: Lion

Lion — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 18:12:11 +0000

Great article. I thought the canadian government was giving enough support to this kind of research.

By: Adrian Akau

Adrian Akau — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:06:01 +0000

Geothermal should become exponentially developed once its benefits are to be clearly seen. Some of the present subsidies to oil would clearly be of greater value to the US if they could be earmarked to Geothermal.

Fossil fuels will gradually be becoming “sunset” industries as the decades pass and it is reasonable to believe that RE sources will be replacing them. Time seems to stand still and all seems to pass slowly but it is inevitable that change to RE will occur.

adrianakau2aol.com

By: Dave Kimble

Dave Kimble — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 01:40:38 +0000

I can’t believe you didn’t think to ask what the ERoEI of the technology is.

You also didn’t clarify whether this is ‘hot wet rocks’ (i.e. using volcanic heat) or hot dry rocks (i.e. using heat from the radioactive decay of uranium in granite).

You didn’t ask at what depth the hot rocks are found. This has a massive impact on the energy budget. It is quite possible to spend more energy drilling holes and pumping water around than you can get back from the hot water – heat-exchanger – boiler – turbine – generator.

You need to approach all new energy ’sources’ with a healthy degree of skepticism.

By: Steve Watton

Steve Watton — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 23:54:04 +0000

Great article, thank you.

Question… Mr. Thompson told you that geothermal energy is big in Vancouver because there are a lot of well-trained people there who can contribute. But are those people there because Vancouver is a good place to take advantage of a good geothermal situation? Isn’t Vancouver essentially on the “ring of fire” around the Pacific? Doesn’t that make geothermal energy easier to tap in such a place?

If we could get well-trained people here in Connecticut, what – from the technical standpoint – would be the real hurdles to getting geothermal energy to work? Despite the obvious advantages, would the initial capital costs deter investors (or even governments) from committing to the long-term benefits?

I have to teach an Environmental Chemistry course next Spring that will deal with the pros and cons of various energy alternatives, and any insight you can give on the true economics of geothermal energy would be hugely useful… if you can’t answer, perhaps Mr. Thompson can?

With many thanks,
Steve