Abstract
Introduction
Power generation from geothermal energy attracted more interest in 2008 and
although it has been buffeted by the ill economic winds, it looks set to move
forward when recovery commences. It will be aided by the fiscal stimulus
packages. Of particular interest is the relatively new application, GSHP,
ground source heat pumps, which is making rapid progress in the United States
and Sweden, and is being taken up in other countries. This is a technology of
the future and we predict that it will make fast progress.
The geothermal market is composed of three sectors with different
technologies. Geothermal energy can be harvested in two ways, direct use of
hot water or steam from low enthalpy deposits for space heating or industrial
use such as aquaculture, thermal baths and hot springs, and indirect use which
transforms the energy in high and medium enthalpy deposits into electricity in
geothermal power generation plants. A third category is the increasingly
important sub-category of direct use, the ground source heat pump (GSHP).
The geothermal market is expanding, although it has not escaped the effects of
the financial crisis in the short term. Big ticket investment in renewable
energy has been hit by the 2008/9 global recession. Working off a low base, it
might be argued that geothermal investment has not taken the same type of
knock as, for example, wind power. However, the long list of projects at early
stages in the United States which we include in this report suggests that the
process of installing geothermal resource has at least slowed.
The global installed capacity of geothermal power generation at 2007 was 9,732
MW, of which 8,590 MW was running. Six countries account for 81% of the
geothermal generation capacity in the world, a small decrease since 2005,
reflecting the broadening horizons of geothermal power generation. The USA is
first with 2,687 MW (1,935 MW operational), followed by Philippines (1,969 MW,
1,855 MW operational); four countries (Mexico, Italy, Indonesia, Japan) had
capacity at the end of 2004 in the range of 500 - 1000 MW each. Growth hot
spots by output in 2007 were Papua New Guinea (833%), Iceland (109% between
2005 and 2007), Turkey (90%), Guatemala (61%), Portugal (44%, The Azores) and
El Salvador (35%).
Report Scope
The report describes the world-wide geothermal energy industry and its
markets, and the technologies, in three segments; power generation, direct use
and an increasingly important category, ground source heat pumps.
The report contains more extensive statistics about GSHP.
- This report provides an excellent introduction and understanding of the
three technologies for exploiting geothermal energy; power generation, GSHPs
(ground source heat pumps), direct use (excluding GSHPs)
- It the industry' s development and use of technology, power generation,
efficiency and location of resources
- It provides an overview of geothermal energy, capacity and utilisation
- The geothermal power industry is reviewed looking at the power operators
and equipment manufacturers
- Geothermal revenue and costs are analysed, including generation,
construction and equipment costs
- The report looks at country use and development of geothermal energy with
an analysis of the major market places - North America, Central America &
Caribbean, Europe, Asia, Africa
- A listing of major geothermal manufacturers with address and telephone and
fax numbers where available is provided at the end of the report
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