On Wednesday the U.S. Department of the Interior announced a plan to open 190 million acres of federal lands to companies seeking to develop geothermal energy production plants. The lands that will be opened are in Alaska and 11 western states. It is believed that the geothermal energy in time could provide electricity to 5.5 million homes. Secretary of the Interior Dick Kempthorne said the following about the plan: “Geothermal energy will play a key role in powering America’s energy future…