Quest_Geothermal

From: KQED
Series: QUEST
Length: 05:01

Solar and wind get all the press, but geothermal is poised for a comeback Read the full description.

Piece Audio

Playing: Quest_Geothermal
From: KQED

Questgeothermal_small With many states drafting legislation to cut back on greenhouse gases, geothermal energy -- a renewable, baseload power source -- is experiencing a renaissance. Two Congressional bills may put millions into geothermal research and development, and companies like Calpine are making investments into geothermal that would have been unthinkable 20 years ago. This piece takes listeners to the largest geothermal field in the world, just north of Sonoma wine country in California for an inside look at the sciene of geothermal energy and what it might mean for California. we got great feedback from listeners on this one.

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Piece Description

With many states drafting legislation to cut back on greenhouse gases, geothermal energy -- a renewable, baseload power source -- is experiencing a renaissance. Two Congressional bills may put millions into geothermal research and development, and companies like Calpine are making investments into geothermal that would have been unthinkable 20 years ago. This piece takes listeners to the largest geothermal field in the world, just north of Sonoma wine country in California for an inside look at the sciene of geothermal energy and what it might mean for California. we got great feedback from listeners on this one.

Broadcast History

This ran twice on the morning of 10/12 during Morning Edition Segment C. IT is also scheduled to run on The California Report Magazine, Friday 10/19, in the afternoon.

See photos of Geothermal on our Flickr Set: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kqedquest/sets/72157602373524283/

Transcript

Intro: California has made no secret of its ambitions to reduce consumption of fossil fuels. But at what cost? Amy Standen reports on one of the lesser-hyped sources of renewable energy out there, deep under the surface of the earth.
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ambi: driving

About 75 miles north of San Francisco, past Calistoga there?s a mountainous landscape known as the Geysers. John Farison works as an engineer for Calpine, the San Jose-based energy company that owns much of this land.

FARISON There?s no hint whatsoever that there?s a geothermal reservoir underneath all of this rugged land. It?s amazing.

It?s also extremely rare. This is the largest producing geothermal field in the world. About two miles beneath the wheels of our SUV, an underground lake is heated up by magma, or molten rock, from the center of the earth, like a...
Read the full transcript

Timing and Cues

This piece contains no Intro or Backannounce. It does contain 9 seconds of funding credits. Suuggested Host Intro: Intro: California has made no secret of its ambitions to reduce consumption of fossil fuels. But at what cost? Amy Standen reports on one of the lesser-hyped sources of renewable energy out there, deep under the surface of the earth.