Geothermal energy development shaping nicely in Utah

California and Nevada are nation's geothermal energy leaders but there are dozens of other US states that could give this renewable energy source a chance to find its place in their energy portfolios. One of positive examples is the state of Utah which last year finished construction of geothermal energy plant in Millard County with 25 megawatts of installed geothermal capacity.

US Geothermal Energy Association recently issued a report discussing potential geothermal projects in varying stages of development in the state, most of which are being concentrated in a central Utah area.

The reports also claims that Utah has plenty of untapped geothermal energy resources, where Utah could in years to come more than double its currently installed geothermal capacity.

Last year, United States added approximately 85 megawatts of new geothermal capacity, with Utah being the third largest state in newly installed capacity with 25 MW, behind California and Nevada.

The US geothermal energy industry is currently experiencing slowdown because the demand for new geothermal power plants is very low, not just because of high construction and drilling costs, but also because some other renewable energy sources (most notably solar and wind) receive lion share of attention, from both states and federal government.

United States is still global geothermal energy leader with the total installed geothermal energy capacity of 3442 MW at the end of 2013. But other countries seem to be giving geothermal lot more room to grow,  so hopefully Utah's example will give other states with good geothermal energy potential a positive path to follow.