US Geothermal Stock
September 9, 2009 by David Craig
Filed under Infrastructure
Local Solutions To Universal Problems
It’s not always easy being the strong silent type.
And nobody know this better than US Geothermal.
With so many trends emerging in the renewable energies industry today, it’s hard to find one that satisfies all the needs of the vast consumer market, while remaining committed to the post fossil-fuel mindset.
It’s also easy to overlook this little-discussed, often misunderstood branch of renewable energy—geothermal.
Exploiting the natural heat generated deep in the Earth’s crust, geothermal energy has clear advantages over the more media-friendly methods like hydroelectric and wind… Advantages that include superior levels of environmental impact and technical simplicity.
One of geothermal’s main advantages involve the direct-use applications, which take heat directly from the earth and transfer it to where it’s needed by using a heat-conducting medium like water or stone.
Typically direct-use is most practical when used in the heating of household water and living space.
Bypassing the power-generation cycle altogether, this is one of the most environmentally-neutral ways of providing temperature control to the buildings where we live and work.
With water heaters alone consuming over 20% of an average American home’s annual power, direct-use applications give geothermal a key edge over other systems that simply cannot side-step the electricity generation cycle.
Investing in US Geothermal
With three projects underway in Idaho, Oregon and Nevada, US Geothermal has over 180 megawatts of production capacity currently planned for completion in the coming years.
And with their shares currently trading at just $1.50, investors should anticipate major movement of this stock as these projects near completion.
By itself, growth in annual energy consumption should be expected to provide a much-needed burst of adrenaline to this branch of the sector.
Investors would also be wise to keep close track of this bargain as market forces gradually swing in favor of renewable energy processes over traditional methods.
Although geothermal energy is limited by geographical and geological factors such as crust consistency and hot-spring activity, the potential for this subset of the renewable energy industry to flourish on a local level is clearly undervalued in today’s market.
With a shift in national and global attitudes towards the creation of power, expect US Geothermal to enjoy healthy growth for at least a decade to come.
To a greener future.
