ENVIRONMENTAL CENTS: The Cheapest Energy (which is also Green)
The least-expensive source of energy? It's right under your feet.
By Bruce Saller
COLUMNIST
Several countries are able to generate most of their electricity from clean sources. The countries with the highest percentage of green energy use a mix of the most reliable generation sources: nuclear, hyrdro, biomass and geothermal, supplemented by wind, solar and battery storage. Iceland produces enough hydro and geothermal energy to meet all their electrical demand. France achieves 92.8% green energy using nuclear (66.8%), hydro (13.6%), wind (8.3%) and solar (4.1%). The United Kingdom achieves 64.2% green energy using wind (30.5%), nuclear (14.4%), biomass (11.9%), solar (5.5%) and hydro (1.9). The US achieves 41.9% green energy using nuclear (17.8%), wind (10.3%), solar (6.9%), hydro (5.4%), biomass (1.1%) and geothermal (0.4%).
There is a large cost difference between the types of electrical generation. The US Energy Information Agency released a report in April 2025 which estimates the average lifetime cost of new generation in dollars/GWH. The costs are:
Offshore Wind — $105.87
Nuclear — $102.67
Biomass — $102.06
Hydro — $74.31
Solar w/battery — $72.73
Natural gas — $64.55
Solar — $51.15
Onshore Wind — $50.79
Geothermal — $44.99
Geothermal power plants use the heat from 1 – 2 miles beneath the earth’s surface to heat a liquid to between 300 and 700 degrees, which is then used to drive a steam turbine. Two holes are driven into the earth – the liquid is forced down an injection well, heated, and returned in a production well.
Geothermal energy is not available in all areas. The Energy Information Administration has developed a map showing where sufficient geothermal energy is available (150 degrees C is 302 degrees F). A large portion of the western U.S. is very suitable for geothermal energy. The U.S, Geological Survey estimates that there is enough geothermal energy in the Nevada area to provide 10% of the US electricity needs. Unfortunately, Virginia does not have a large area suitable for geothermal energy. However, Pennsylvania, which is part of the Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland (PJM) Interconnection that manages electricity generation and distribution through Virginia and other states, has significant geothermal potential. Penn State University did a study in 2025 which concluded the state could produce 55.3 GW of geothermal energy, which would have provided 51.5% of PJM’s 2024 total energy production.
Since geothermal is reliable, green and the cheapest form of new energy in the US, we need to lobby our representatives to ensure the maximum amount of geothermal energy is developed, especially in Pennsylvania.
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