Geothermal could power millions of U.S. homes, Study says.

• Author: Herro, Alana
• Position: EYE ON EARTH

Geothermal power, a renewable energy source that has been largely ignored in the United States, could supply a significant share of the country's future energy needs, according to a recent Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) study. The study notes that by investing some $1 billion over 15 years--less than the cost of building a single clean-coal power plant--geothermal energy could power an estimated 25 million U.S. homes by 2050.

"Heat mining can be economical in the short term," said Jefferson Tester, a professor of chemical engineering at MIT and the head of the 18-member panel that prepared...