Green Grove Thursday…FREE Renewable Energy magazine

Green Grove Thursday….for the latest in renewable energy news, events, technological developments and environmental concerns, you can get a free email subscription to Renewable Energy Magazine at:    www.renewableenergymagazine.com

GE, IKEA and Walgreens using renewable energy to save money

GE, IKEA and Walgreens using renewable energy to save money.

Japan to use natural geothermal energy

Japan’s Geothermal Resources Get a Closer Look
By Robert Crowe   |   May 11, 2011

In wake of nuclear crisis, experts say time has come to tap into Japan’s underground heat.

Kyushu, Japan — For centuries, the Japanese have enjoyed relaxing in abundant hot springs, or “onsen,” which are heated by the volcanic and tectonic activity that makes East Asia prone to major earthquakes.

Similar geothermal resources along the Pacific Rim’s “ring of fire” have attracted billions of dollars in foreign investment to Indonesia and the Philippines as those countries develop hundreds of megawatts of power plants that generate electricity with natural steam.

Japanese companies play key roles in the worldwide geothermal boom, yet development is conspicuously absent within Japan due to cultural reverence for hot springs, a lack of incentives and the historical reliance on nuclear power and fossil fuels for electricity. Since the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami on March 11 crippled the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear reactors, causing radiation leaks and blackouts, there have been renewed calls to develop Japan’s abundant geothermal fields.

To read the balance of the article, go to:http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2011/05/japans-geothermal-resources-gets-a-closer-look

Have a beautiful solar day!
Diane T. and furfamily

Ireland is using geothermal energy- Why can’t the US???

Ireland’s first geothermal electricity plant approved- 17 February 2011

Planning permission for the first geothermal electricity plant in Ireland has been obtained by SLR Consulting.
By Isabella Kaminski

Development and operation of the geothermal project, which is based at Greenogue Business Park in County Dublin, has been approved. It will consist of the initial drilling of two deep wells to an approximate depth of 4000 m.

The wells will be used for the extraction and re-injection of natural hot geothermal water. The heat from the water will then be used to operate a geothermal electricity generation plant that will generate up to 4.5 MW of electricity which will be fed into the National Grid.

Read the rest of the article here:

http://www.renewableenergyfocus.com/view/15982/irelands-first-geothermal-electricity-plant-approved/