Where are most Google searches for 'geothermal energy' coming from? If you guess it's from the western states where hydrothermal power is most prevalent, you'd be way off.
It's Iowa, Maine, Ohio, and New Hampshire. Not your typical 'hot spots.'
Charles Baron, Google's renewable energy manager, speaking at the Geothermal Energy Association forum last week in DC told us the most interest is focused on ground loop heat systems or heat pumps.
Ground loop systems can operate virtually anywhere in the country, although here in the Southwest they haven't caught on as developers figured out how to maximize their application in relatively dry soils.
We now have 46 states participating in our national geothermal data project and many of them are gathering info on soils, conductivities, thermal gradients, and case studies aimed at the ground loop market.