Geothermal industry predicts global acceleration of growth

WASHINGTON, DC, US, May 16, 2007. Forty-six countries could be generating electricity from geothermal by 2010, up from the current 21 nations around the world.

Total online geothermal capacity could increase to 13,500 MW by the end of this decade, up from 8661 MW in 2000, the US Geothermal Energy Association predicts in its ‘Update on World Geothermal Development.’ In the United States alone, the power capacity for geothermal is expected to double within the next few years.

“The trends in both the number of new countries developing geothermal energy and the total of new megawatts of power capacity under development reverse slowdowns in international markets seen in the late 1990s, and approximate trends seen in the more robust 1980s,” explain authors Karl Gawell and Griffin Greenberg. “The success of development in a country is linked to government policies and initiatives; the extent of future geothermal project development depends more upon adequate funding and sustained policy support than geologic factors.”

The U.S. continues to be the world leader in geopower capacity and a wave of new geothermal development is underway, propelled by federal production tax credits. Germany is looking at 100 sites for geothermal and wants to have 200 MW online in several years, while Iceland has doubled its geopower capacity since 2005 and Indonesia's aggressive geothermal program is regaining steam, with several new developments expected to achieve 2000 MW of capacity by 2010.

Australia is aggressively pursuing Hot Dry Rock geothermal technology with five different projects currently underway, and the World Bank is expected to approve US$17.8 million this year for the ARGeo project that will develop thousands of megawatts of new geothermal in Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda. The report notes that Armenia, Canada, Chile, Djibouti, Dominica, Greece, Honduras, Hungary, India, Iran, Korea, Nevis, Rwanda, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, St. Lucia, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam and Yemen are all looking at geothermal development that could generate power in coming years.

There were 21 countries generating geopower in 2000: Australia, China, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Ethiopia, France (Guadeloupe), Guatemala, Iceland, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Philippines, Portugal (Azores), Russia, Thailand, Turkey and the United States, with Austria, Germany and Papua New Guinea adding facilities in the first half of this decade.

“Overall, geothermal development appears to be accelerating,” the report notes. “The trends in both the number of new countries developing geothermal energy and the total of new megawatts of power capacity under development appear to reverse slowdowns in international markets seen in the late 1990s, and approximate trends from the more robust 1980s.”

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