Geothermal Power Gaining Ground

"Tighter emissions controls and rising fuel costs are spurring demand for renewable energy, prompting utilities around the world to tap underground resources previously considered too costly to develop. Global geothermal capacity will rise as much as 10 percent a year through 2010, three times the pace of the past decade, the International Geothermal Association forecasts.

Geothermal plants, which use energy from hot springs or underground steam fields to produce power, are not affected by oil prices, which doubled in the past three years, and they face no emission penalties. Unlike wind- or solar-powered plants, they are not weather-dependent and can run 24 hours a day.

'We like geothermal,' said Stuart Hemphill, director of renewable and alternative energy at Southern California Edison, the biggest U.S. retailer of renewable energy in 2005. 'It's a very consistent, reliable source of renewable energy.' "