The U.S. Geological Survey has just made the map data for their assessment of geothermal energy potential in the Western United States available via interactive maps. The map depicts the favorability of geothermal potential as well as their location, and there are GIS data downloads as well as the means to view the data on either ArcGIS.com or Google Earth.
While geothermal power plants are currently operating in six states (Alaska, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, and Utah), the electric power generation potential from identified geothermal systems is 9,057 Megawatts-electric (MWe), distributed over 13 states. The addition of the interactive mapping component to this study makes this data much more accessible and discoverable by the general public and entrepreneurs who may want to exploit this energy potential.
