Originally published at Montara Energy Ventures.

Via Inside Greentech:

Iceland’s Glitnir Bank released a report today on the booming geothermal market in the U.S., and it intends to be a part of it.

The bank, which opened its first U.S. office in New York today, said it plans to invest $1 billion in U.S. geothermal energy projects over the next five years.

“The challenges are numerous, but the potential is huge,” Arni Magnusson, managing director of sustainable energy for Glitnir, told a press conference today.

[…]

In its report, Glitnir predicts a more than six-fold increase in the annual sales of electricity from geothermal sources in the United States to $11 billion in 2025, up from $1.8 billion now.

The report said geothermal energy could fill up to 20 percent of California’s electricity needs, 60 percent of Nevada’s and 30 percent of Hawaii’s.

Glitnir is no stranger to geothermal, with 90 percent of all houses in Iceland being heated geothermally.

But it says the U.S. is a global leader in geothermal, with a current installed capacity of 2,800 megawatts and annual electricity generation of 16,000 gigawatt hours. Current projects, when completed, could bring that installed capacity up by another 2,800 megawatts, according to Glitnir.

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