This article discusses a new Swedish technology that could make geothermal as mainstream as wind and solar.
Geothermal power is the best of both worlds. It is flexible, like natural-gas power, providing energy whenever needed. And it’s green, like wind and solar power, producing almost no emissions.
Current technology, however, limits its applications. Large geothermal power plants depend on accessing very hot water, which can only be recovered in small regions around the planet. That’s why places with volcanoes, like Iceland and Indonesia, are able to use large amounts of geothermal energy, but others like France or the UK aren’t.
The Swedish company Climeon claims it can make geothermal power as accessible as wind and solar. Its technology can make use of low-temperature heat, which opens up economically viable geothermal power to much more of the world. And Climeon now seems poised to scale up beyond the five countries it operates in today, after the Bill Gates-backed fund Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV) said on March 6 that it will provide $12.5 million in funding.