Tech Scrape

DOE funds will help finance construction of a geothermal facility using advanced technology. The U.S. Department of Energy has offered a $102.2 million loan guarantee, its first for geothermal energy, to U.S. Geothermal , based in Boise, ID. The guarantee is designed to support construction of a 22-megawatt plant at Neal Hot Springs, near Vale, OR.

Scott Pace says Obama’s mission for the agency is risky and unclear. Last week, the Obama administration proposed a new budget for the U.S. space program that would cancel NASA’s efforts to develop new launch and transport technology and return humans to the moon by 2020. Instead, the budget focuses heavily on using the commercial sector to ferry astronauts to and from orbit.