By forcing western states to focus on technology for smaller power plants, he says, the department hopes to sow the seeds for large-scale geothermal production. Several western states have already warmed to the idea of geothermal energy, says Jelacic. California generates about 2,200 megawatt-hours of electricity each year. One plant, built during the oil crisis of the 1970s before Congress created the DOE, now generates enough electricity to power the city of San Francisco. Nevada currently generates 200 megawatt-hours a year.
Engineers harness geothermal energy by boring deep into Earth's crust.
There they tap into hot, briny reservoirs of water, pump the fluid to the surface and convert it to steam that spins electricity-producing turbine engines. The brine, once cooled, is pumped back into the wells to restore volume and pressure. The Geysers in northern California is the only steam field in the United States that is commercially developed. Adam Serchuk, director of research at the Renewable Energy Policy Project and the Center for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technology, says that government programs such as the western states initiative are good vehicles to explore alternative energy sources. But more often than not, these programs are poorly funded.