Greentech Media: For Cheap Clean Energy, Go Geothermal, Study Says

Greentech Media: For Cheap Clean Energy, Go Geothermal, Study Says: "For Cheap Clean Energy, Go Geothermal, Study Says

An NYU Stern study says geothermal energy is the cheapest renewable energy out there, and could compete with coal with about $3.3 billion in government research funding.



Geothermal energy is the cheapest form of clean energy out there, with wind energy a close second - and both could become cheaper than fossil fuel-fired energy if governments will direct more research funding to them.

That's according to a new report from New York University Stern, which calls for governments to start putting more money into geothermal and wind power research to yield faster and more dramatic improvements than money put into solar research.

Geothermal energy was singled out as the cheapest renewable energy source out there, and could become competitive with coal and gas-fired power with about $3.3 billion in research and development spending, the report said.

The United States got about 2800 megawatts of geothermal energy in 2006, or 0.3 percent of the total. But it only costs 4 to 6 cents per kilowatt hour to make on average, according to DOE's Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy division - close to the ultra-cheap price of energy made from coal, but without coal power's massive carbon emissions."