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1/26/10, 5:46 pm EST

What Will it Take for Geothermal to be Cheaper than Coal

According to a new study from NYU, it would take about three billion dollars of DOE investment to get the costs of geothermal down to the cost of coal. That does seem like a fairly steep price when geothermal power seems so very free. But getting enough heat out of the ground to power turbines is no simple affair.

The study also found that previous DOE investments in geothermal provided higher returns in price drops and efficiency increases than investment in any other renewable resource.

There’s a sense in the energy industry that geothermal is already a mature technology and that, unfortunately, it’s never going to be practical on a large scale. However, the NYU study is pointing out that this is simply not true. New techniques are hitting geothermal from every angle. Some people are working on getting more heat out of geothermal wells, others are making electricity with cooler rocks while a third group of people are creating new ways to reach hot rocks with less money.

The study also determined (though we’re not quite clear on how) that geothermal could get down to four cents per kilowatt hour with only $3 B of investment from the DOE. This seems rather fishy to me. But whether or not it will get down to grid parity, more focus on geothermal is definitely needed.

Via GreenCarCongress

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Photos: Outside Lands Music Festival (Friday)

Had a great first day at San Francisco’s Outside Lands Music Festival. The weather was absolutely gorgeous providing the perfect background to some great music. I spent my festival time cautiously today. Since it is my first time here, I chose to acquaint myself slowly on day one and hit things with more gusto over the next two days.

We started our day with a set from Los Campesinos! who Madison fans will remember and who provided just the right amount of energy for an early afternoon. We stuck around and caught The Dodos whose new material was a welcomed soundtrack to the afternoon. Speaking of new material, The National continue to roll out new tunes in concert. I think there were a total of three new ones played yesterday if my memory serves me correctly. The set ending “Mr. November” has become a guarantee lately, but that bother me one bit nor did the rest of the packed crowd.

Pearl Jam closed this down the first night in proper fashion. I had a feeling we might get a special guest appearance by Neil Young last night, but that didn’t happen. Instead, the band channeled Shakey via his catalog with covers of “Throw Your Hatred Down” and the night’s final tune “Rockin In The Free World.” Having seen Pearl Jam plenty of times this one ranks up there in terms of favorites. It was the first time I’d heard them play “Crazy Mary” and The Who’s “Real Me” was the ultimate highlight for me.

Please follow @Muzzleofbees for frequent updates of our festival coverage. Not here, but want to be? YouTube is providing a webcast for the entire festival weekend.

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Photos: Outside Lands Music Festival (Saturday)

Day two of the Outside Lands Music Festival was a hot one. Despite the heat we managed to see a number of great bands including the resounding favorite amongst out group, Bat For Lashes.

We started our day with Raphael Saadiq who was great when he got around to playing music. Unfortunately, he filled a third of his set with stage banter and unengaged storytelling. All was forgiven with his cover of Iggy & The Stooges “Search & Destroy.”

Photos proved to be impossible by the time we made it over to see Portugal. The Man. As I said on Twitter yesterday, this band has become one of my favorite live bands this year. I think the festival organizers here and at Lollapalooza earlier this month underestimated the group’s rising popularity because their crowds were massive and packed. Not a bad problem for those guys.

I wasn’t expecting Mastodon to convert me to fandom yesterday, but I definitely did want to give them the opportunity to try. I stayed for about half their set before departing for a an up close spot for Bat For Lashes. My traveling companion joked that he thought the souls of all Mastodon attendees would be sucked into some demonic vortex once the lead singer opened his mouth. Thankfully that didn’t happen.

I haven’t spent enough time with the new Bat For Lashes. In fact, I’ve been racking my brain to wonder if I even own it. Having been a fan of Natasha’s first record, I can’t think of any reason why I’ve let her most recent offering pass me by. That will change when I find a record store. Her set was so fun and the band’s enjoyment was also visible the entire time. It was delicate and electronic in some parts and the drummer was out of this world good. I’m not sure if there are more Bat For Lashes tour dates out there this year, but if they swing through your town do check them out.

A wave of skepticism fell over me as I watched TV On The Radio trot out the horn section at the beginning of their set. After yesterday’s set I don’t know if I could ever enjoy the band without them in the future. It was that great. Seriously. Playing what they described from the stage as “their last show for a long time,” TV On The Radio brought lots of energy as the temperatures began to cool down. I don’t know if I could ever tire of “Staring at the Sun.”

That was it for us yesterday. We wanted to take some of the city and we weren’t really feeling the headliners. About to head back for the third and final day. Follow @Muzzleofbees for frequent updates on the festival and our last day in town.

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Beach Boys' Brian Wilson plays mammoth 'Greatest Hits' show in London

Brian Wilson played a mammoth ‘greatest hits’ show in London last night (September 3).

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Bloodshot Records 15th Anniversary Beer B-Q Bash In Philly

This Sunday September 6 the Bloodshot Records 15th Anniversary Beer-B-Q comes to World Cafe Live. If you’re looking for something fun to do this weekend, then you should check it out!

There will be performances from Waco Brothers, The Yayhoos, Bottle Rockets, Deadstring Brothers, Ha Ha Tonka, Cordero, Robbie Fulks & Dex Romweber Duo. There's going to be Rolling Rock drink specials, art by the Yard Dog Gallery and free food to the first hundred people who show up.

Here’s the lineup (subject to change) and some MP3’s below.

4:00-4:30 Robbie Fulks (upstairs – first set)
4:45-5:45 Cordero
5:45-6:15 Dex Romweber (upstairs – first set)
6:15-7:00 Ha Ha Tonka
7:00-7:30 Dex Romweber (upstairs, second set)
7:30-8:30 Bottle Rockets
8:30-9:00 Robbie Fulks (upstairs, second set)
9:00-10:00 Deadstring Brothers
10:15-11:15 Yayhoos
11:30-12:30 Waco Brothers

Hard Times – Bottle Rockets
Get On The Bus – The Bottle Rockets
Walking On The Devil’s Backbone – Ha Ha Tonka
Guardasecretos – Cordero
Do What I Say – The Waco Brothers
Nothing At All – The Waco Brothers
Sleepin’ On The Job of Love – Robbie Fulks
Family Man – Robbie Fulks
Where’s Your Boyfriend At – The Yayhoos
Lookout – Dex Romweber Duo

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Today's playing tip

Guitarist magazine asked GT editor Nev for his own personal tips on playing. Here are the first two… You think it’s your picking hand that’s sloppy; I bet it‘s your fretting fingers! You think your poor hand-to-hand co-ordination is down to…

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Who’s Worse? Nickelback vs NICKELBACK

I don’t think it’s an understatement to say that this is my most requested post ever. Ever since I started these silly little contests pitting two bad bands against each other it’s been requested, nay begged, that the wretchedly horrible nu-metal rockers Nickelback get their due.

The only problem I could see is that there is literally no other band that are as bad as Nickelback. It’s a simple fact. They even make Creed and Hinder look good in comparison. Additionally, since Nickelback have actually ripped off their own songs (as the mash-up below proves), it only makes sense that they are pitted against themselves in this contest.

MP3 Nickelback – How You Remind Me of Someday (Mash-up)

So you know the drill from here. Put your vote for whose worse in the comments (should be an easy decision) and make sure you add some explanation of why you think they are the worst. Don’t hold back in your criticism, because Lord knows, Nickelback haven’t held back in creating the most repulsive, god-awful music known to man.

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Today's playing tip

Guitarist magazine asked GT editor Nev for his own personal tips on playing. Here are the first two… You think it’s your picking hand that’s sloppy; I bet it‘s your fretting fingers! You think your poor hand-to-hand co-ordination is down to…

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