New Website Seeks to Heat Up America, Says Geothermal Energy Association

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) announced today the launch of a new website with updated and expanded information about using heat from inside the earth -- geothermal energy -- to produce power and energy. The new site provides information about where geothermal electricity is produced today in the US, new tax incentives for the renewable resource, and more. The site is accessible at http://www.geo-energy.org.

"We've been working to bring our new website online for the past few months," notes GEA's Executive Director Karl Gawell. "The new site provides a wide range of information to the public in a more comprehensive and user friendly manner than ever before."

In addition to providing information about GEA and the geothermal industry's annual trade show, the site now provides:

-- a "Geothermal Basics" section, with questions and answers about a variety of topics from environmental impacts to common myths;

-- a "Public Policy" section (accessible through the "GEA Publications" tab) with information about current policy issues, including tax incentives, leasing, and research provisions recently passed by Congress; and

-- a "Major Companies" section with profiles about the six geothermal companies that represent over 90 percent of geothermal operations in the United States.

Besides these new items, several parts of the website have been significantly expanded, including:

-- links to workbooks, student information, and state and local contacts;

-- the electronic database with information about US geothermal companies;

-- state-by-state listings of existing geothermal power plants with updated information about each one;

-- information about new projects under development and nearly one hundred new sites under examination for future geothermal power production; and

-- GEA publications including reports on the environment, geothermal power costs, employment, and GEA's bi-monthy updates on current events.

"We are providing more information to the public free of charge to encourage a greater understanding of this resource at an important time for the geothermal industry," notes Gawell. "This largely untapped energy resource can provide substantial clean, reliable, domestic energy for America, and with federal and state support many new facilities are under development across the West from Alaska to Arizona."

The new GEA website can be found at http://www.geo-energy.org

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