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StumbleNevada to challenge California’s geothermal energy supremacy
Monday, Jan. 25, 2010 | 4:07 p.m.
California is king of American geothermal energy, but Nevada is vying for the crown.
In a report released today, the Geothermal Energy Association reported that the Golden State far outstrips any other in terms of geothermal energy output, but for new plants, developers are looking to Nevada.
As of August, California had about 2,605 megawatts of geothermal energy production capacity. Nevada, in distant second, has about 448 megawatts. By 2005, California’s geothermal energy capacity alone exceeded that of every country in the world.
But California's days as the lone superpower of geothermal energy could be numbered. That's because the Silver State is rolling the plants out faster than neighboring states, most of which have less suitable land available and lengthier permitting processes.
In the last six months, Nevada has completed three new power plants, bringing the total number of operating geothermal power plants in the state to 21.
Nevada could add as much as 3,743 megawatts of geothermal energy in the next decade compared to 2,436 in California.
Up to 1,207 megawatts of that projected energy production for Nevada is in the final stages of development compared to up to just 374 megawatts in the final stages of development in California.
Nevada is also getting the lion's share of federal funding for demonstration projects, with more than $73.6 million in Energy Department funding. California, in second place, gets about $47.3 million from the Energy Department.
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There's an important piece missing from this article: the why. Why is Nevada surpassing California on the clean energy front?
The answer is obvious: Sen. Harry Reid. Time and again, Senator Reid has delivered millions upon millions of federal dollars to make Nevada a leader in alternative energy.
Unlike other states, we're not just talking about a 21st century green economy - we're making it happen. And we have Harry Reid to thank!
Great article, and great news for NV, but how do you leave out Harry Reid's involvement? This is the kind of thing he needs to be given credit for because he talks about it all the time and delivers on it all the time.