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Total Annual U.S. Incident Wave Energy 2,110 terrawatt-hours

The United States receives 2,100 terawatt-hours of incident wave energy along its coastlines each year, and tapping just one quarter of this potential could produce as much energy as the entire U.S. hydropower system

In addition to its abundant solar, wind and geothermal resources, the Pacific Northwest is also uniquely situated to capture the renewable energy of the ocean. Special buoys, turbines, and other technologies can capture the power of waves and tides and convert it into clean, pollution-free electricity. Like other renewable resources, both wave and tidal energy are variable in nature. Waves are produced by winds blowing across the surface of the ocean. However, because waves travel across the ocean, their arrival time at the wave power facility may be more predictable than wind. In contrast, tidal energy, which is driven by the gravitational pull of the moon and sun, is predictable centuries in advance.

The United States receives 2,100 terawatt-hours of incident wave energy along its coastlines each year, and tapping just one quarter of this potential could produce as much energy as the entire U.S. hydropower system

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When windmills were first developed they were used to assist man with the chores of pumping and grinding.

“The windiest sites have not been built, because there is no way to move that electricity from there to the load centers,” he said

The basic problem is that many transmission lines, and the connections between them, are simply too small for the amount of power companies would like to squeeze through them

Advantages   Geothermal energy does not produce any pollution, and does not contribute to the greenhouse effect.

Once you've built a geothermal power station, the energy is almost free. It may need a little energy to run a pump, but this can be taken from the energy being generated.

The big problem is that there are not many places where you can build a geothermal power station. You need hot rocks of a suitable type, at a depth where we can drill down to them. The type of rock above is also important, it must be of a type that we can easily drill through.

Hazardous gases and minerals may come up from underground, and can be difficult to safely dispose of.

Is it renewable? Geothermal energy is renewable. The energy keeps on coming, as long as we don't pump too much cold water down and cool the rocks too much

U.S. Geothermal Is Mostly in the West Most of the geothermal reservoirs in the United States are located in the western States and Hawaii.

Electricity generation power plants require water or steam at very high temperature (300° to 700°F). Geothermal power plants are generally built where geothermal reservoirs are located within a mile or two of the surface.

The United States Is the Leader in Geothermal Power Generation The United States leads the world in electricity generation with geothermal power.  In 2009, U.S. geothermal power plants produced 15 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh), or 0.4% of total U.S. electricity generation.  In 2009, five States had geothermal power plants:

Geothermal power plants use hydrothermal resources that have two common ingredients: water (hydro) and heat (thermal). Geothermal plants require high temperature (300°F to 700°F) hydrothermal resources that may come from either dry steam wells or hot water wells.

Geothermal Power Plants Have Low Emission Levels Geothermal power plants do not burn fuel to generate electricity, so their emission levels are very low. They release less than 1% of the carbon dioxide emissions of a fossil fuel plant. Geothermal plants use scrubber systems to clean the air of hydrogen sulfide that is naturally found in the steam and hot water. Geothermal plants emit 97% less acid rain-causing sulfur compounds than are emitted by fossil fuel plants. After the steam and water from a geothermal reservoir have been used, they are injected back into the Earth.

Hot water is pumped from deep underground through a well under high pressure. When the water reaches the surface, the pressure is dropped, which causes the water to turn into steam. The steam spins a turbine, which is connected to a generator that produces electricity. The steam cools off in a cooling tower and condenses back to water. The cooled water is pumped back into the Earth to begin the process again.

Geothermal heat pumps can do all sorts of things—from heating and cooling homes to warming swimming pools.

heat by pumping water or a refrigerant (a special type of fluid) through pipes just below the Earth's surface, where the temperature is a constant 50 to 60°F.