Lean Green War Machine

That is really interesting - a 270 MW plant that will produce 600 MW. Why say annually? it either produces that power or doesn't - no time involved.

Now on the other hand, if the intention was to say it put out 600 MWH of energy annually, then the 270 MW plant is running a little ove two hours a year!

Looks like an introductory sentence written by a reporter who has no concept of power, energy, units, or math.

It said 'the site and others', that is, the 270MW plant (the site) and other plants will produce 600MW. Here 'and' has to be understood as 'alongwith'. I think it is ok.

You're right - I must have skipped over the 'and others'. I got focused on the incorrect use of 'annually'. Thanks for the clarification.

According to the much better written IEEE article, the plant is 270 MW and the region has geothermal potential up to 600 MW.

Whoever wrote the blog entry needs an editor....

Regardless, that isn't a lot of power. Most of the current base line fossil units around New England produce an average of 400 megawatts, each. And many of those are 40 - 50 years old. The old, small nukes run around 500 - 550, and the newer ones (20 - 30 years old) run 750 megawatts plus.

Don't get me wrong, I'd much rather see this take hold than covering America with solar panels or forests of windmills. The power delivery should be much steadier, and I think that places like Hawaii should capitalize on this natural resource.

From what I've found in research for this region, I'd need about 100 miles plus of pipe to even start getting enough heat for steam. That's why I don't like seeing old hydro projects decommissioned and the dams blown.

Anyway, it's a start. This is something that should be pursued anywhere the opportunity presents itself.

Why would China Lake prefer geothermal, when it happens to be situated in a location that seems to be purpose-built for solar? One would think solar would be a whole lot cheaper. But, then, since this is a top secret military reservation pretty much out in the middle of nowhere, they don't have to worry too much about the neighbors complaining about increased earthquake activity, as in Northern California or Switzerland...

If military research sparks domestic production, as it has in the past, and since the US military has the $$$ to put into it, maybe we'll see alternative energy technologies becoming more efficient and less expensive. (Not that the Pentagon has been noteworthy for these two traits in recent years.)