SMU Geothermal Project Unveils Green Energy Source

SMU (Southern Methodist University) researchers have conducted a geothermal project that unveils huge green energy sources in the coal country. West Virginia has the capability of producing 75% extra energy from geothermal sources in comparison to the power generated by the state’s power plants that are mostly coal-fired.

SMU’s geothermal laboratory has been funded through a grant received from Google.org, while suggesting that Earth’s temperature beneath  West Virginia State is significantly greater than the previously calculated estimates while being capable of supporting the commercial base load in terms of geothermal energy production. Geothermal energy is obtained by making use of Earth’s heat for producing heat and electricity.

The geothermal generation potential of West Virginia has been estimated at 18,890 MW while assuming a conservative thermal recovery rate of 2%. This new estimate represents an increase of 75% over previous estimates and well exceeds the current power generation capacity of the state of 16,350 MW. SMU geothermal laboratory’s researchers will be presenting a detailed report on this discovery obtained from detailed mapping as well as the interpretation of the temperature data, at the Geothermal Resources Council meeting to be held in Sacramento during October.