Acid rain, mercury and carbon dioxide emissions are all products of coal-burning power plants. In fact, electricity generation is responsible for 38% of the United States’ carbon dioxide emissions. All of this points to this bigger issue of global warming. And whatever your political stance on this issue may be, there’s no denying that global warming has rocketed into the national spotlight.

This is why we turn our attention to renewable resources. The cost hurdles of wind, solar and other Earth-friendly power generation techniques will continue to plummet as new technologies are perfected.

But there’s another renewable resource that no one is talking about. It’s a proven power generating system… In fact, this system produces more than 25% of the power in Iceland, thanks to the country’s unique geology. And it could be an energy savior, even in parts of the U.S.

Because Iceland is so volcanically active, this nation can feed its power needs through geothermal power. A geothermal power plant uses steam produced naturally from deep inside the Earth to power its turbines. As an added bonus, this process does not produce any of the harmful emissions, unlike burning fossil fuels.

Of course, the effectiveness of geothermal power has depended largely on location. Iceland is one big volcano, with geysers and steam flowing up almost every crack in the ground. There are dry steam fields in the U.S. — most notably The Geysers in Northern California. But some scientists believe they have found a way to extract power from the Earth’s heat no matter what the location.

It’s called an enhanced geothermal system. Essentially, this is a way to “enhance” the flow of water into the ground by pumping in water mixed with chemicals. Think of it as mining for heat, except the drill being used is water.

This may seem far-fetched. However, some of the sharpest minds in science see this as one of our best chances at clean, sustainable energy. A 2006 report issued by MIT claims that it would be possible to affordably generate 100 gigawatts of electricity or more by 2050 with a $1 billion investment.

The traditional energy supplies we use to power our homes and vehicles are dwindling. If we don’t act now, we could be in the dark for a very, very long time…

Next week, I’ll write more extensively on the possibility of a major geothermal power project here in the U.S. I might even have a penny stock or two that could be the future of clean, renewable power in a nation hooked on coal and oil.

Best,
Gunner
June 18, 2007

P.S.: One small company’s remarkable process that transforms once-useless heavy crude into usable oil is quickly coming to fruition.

Investing in Iceland was originally featured in the Penny Sleuth.