WASHINGTON, Aug. 7 /EMWNews/ -- A survey released by the

Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) shows continued growth in the number of

new geothermal power projects under development in the United States, a 20%

increase since January of this year. The report identified 103 projects

underway in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho,

New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. When developed,

these projects could provide nearly 4,000 MW of new electric power, enough

electricity to meet the needs of roughly 4 million homes.



    "The surge in new geothermal power development continues," said Karl

Gawell, GEA's Executive Director. In January of 2008, GEA released a survey

which identified 86 new projects with a potential of 3,368 MW. The new

report identified 103 projects, which when completed could have up to 3,979

MW of power capacity. Also, two projects listed as under development in the

January survey have since come on-line.



    Current geothermal capacity on-line is 2,957 MW according to the

report, and with the new additions geothermal power could reach nearly

7,000 MW. Given the high reliability and capacity factors for geothermal

power, this would meet the household electricity needs of the cities of Los

Angeles, Phoenix, San Francisco and Seattle combined.



    Development of these new projects will provide significant economic

benefits, according to GEA. "These new projects will result in the infusion

of roughly $15 billion in capital investment in the western states, and

create 7,000 permanent jobs and more than 25,000 person-years of

construction and manufacturing employment," Gawell stated.



    The number of geothermal projects has been steadily increasing over the

past two years, the report points out. Geothermal power production is

headed to meet or exceed recent projections. "In January 2006, The Western

Governors Association's Geothermal Task Force projected 15,000 MW of

geothermal power on-line by 2025, at the current pace geothermal production

could exceed this estimate," according to Gawell.



    The August 2008 results by state are: (State: Number of Geothermal

Projects/Megawatts) Alaska: 5: 53 - 100 MW; Arizona: 2: 2 - 20 MW;

California: 21: 927.6 - 1036.6 MW; Colorado: 1: 10 MW; Florida: 1: 0.2 - 1

MW; Hawaii: 2: 8 MW; Idaho: 6: 251 - 326 MW; Nevada: 45: 1082.5 - 1901.5

MW; New Mexico: 1: 10 MW; Oregon: 11: 297.4 - 322.4 MW; Utah: 6: 244 MW;

Washington: 1: Unspecified; Wyoming: 1: 0.2 MW. Total: 103 geothermal

projects; 2885.9 - 3979.7 MW.



    The full text of the US Geothermal Production and Development Update

August 7, 2008 is being made available on the GEA web site at:

http://www.geo-energy.org/.