It seems that whenever we talk about alternate sources of energy, the only two sources that come to our mind are Solar and Wind Energy. That is indeed not all too surprising as most of the world is pretty capable of harnessing these two forms of energy and they are more extensively available that ‘Geothermal Energy’. That is apparently what we used to believe until recently, but as always researchers have altered our notions by showing us that over 120,000 MW of untapped low-temperature geothermal energy lies in the US alone!

Raser Technologies and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson broke ground on New Mexico’s first geothermal power plant. Situated at Lightning Dock near Animas, the new plant will incorporate an innovative binary liquid technology that allows it to make use of the site’s low levels of geothermal energy. The project will be one of the first geothermal plants in the nation to incorporate the new breed of low-temperature technology featured in Raser’s proprietary modular power plants.

Each individual generation unit is manufactured off-site, delivered to the location, and rapidly installed to create, in essence, a geothermal farm with multiple 450 kW units. Raser Technologies anticipates the first 10 MW of power generation will be online by early next year (2009). Phase II of the project will add another 15 MW of power, for a total of 25 MW, which is enough to power nearly fifteen thousand homes. This technology holds exciting prospects, as recently the US Geological Survey identified over 120,000 MW of untapped low temperature geothermal resources in the US.

Via: Inhabitat