[Graeme]

Underground heat gives light

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'A') new geothermal power plant at an Alaskan hot springs resort harnesses the lowest-temperature underground heat source ever used to generate electricity. The plant, which went on-line this summer, could make geothermal power more common across the U.S. and lead to the use of low-temperature waste heat to produce electricity.

The system also paves the way for using a byproduct from drilling oil and gas wells. “Ninety-five to 98% of what they pump out of the ground in Texas is hot water,” says Bruce Biederman, who leads the UTC project. “They either reinject that hot water or discard it. So, currently there’s a tremendous amount of resource that’s not being used,” amounting to billions of gallons. Biederman expects to have demonstration projects running at oil and gas wells in Texas and Nevada by early next year.