Geothermal drilling triggers German quake?

Geothermal developer Geox is now facing a government inquiry into whether its $30 million geothermal power plant in der Pfalz caused a 2.7-magnitude earthquake in August.

The government-supported plant is still operational, but German officials are reviewing data from government scientists that place the blame with the company's deep drilling into the Earth, according to the New York  Times. Geox officials have denied any causality.

Geothermal is already the cheapest form of alternative energy, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, and it shows promise to reduce dependance on coal for electricity (see Report says geothermal is leaving wind, solar in the dust).

But Geox's project is the third in recent months to raise fears about the connection between deep drilling for geothermal projects and earthquakes. In June, The New York Times reported on a geothermal project in Basel, Switzerland, that some scientists say caused a large earthquake, followed by thousands of small quakes in 2006 and 2007.

The Times drew links between that effort and a project being developed by AltaRock Energy in Northern California. Both projects aimed to fracture rock deep underground to generate steam, but AltaRock disputes the newspaper's accounts of the similarities of the projects.

Unrelated problems at the site forced AltaRock to suspend drilling after it encountered a number of physical difficulties (see AltaRock suspends drilling at DOE-backed project).

The New York Times said some geothermal experts are expressing concern that the controversy could damage the sector's reputation.  

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