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REYJAVIK, Iceland, November 2, 2005
(Refocus Weekly)
The United States accounts for 28% of the world’s
installed geothermal energy, when both electric and thermal heat
capacity are examined.
There is 8,932 MW of installed power capacity in 24 countries,
generating 56,951 GWh per year of green power, according to the
International Geothermal Association. The average capacity factor is
0.73, ranging from a low of 0.56 in the Phillippines to a high of
0.96 in Kenya.
The U.S. has 2,564 MW which generate 17,917 GWh, explains an
overview presented at the 2005 World Geothermal Congress in Antalya,
Turkey. Others in the top ten rankings for green power include the
Philippines (1,931 MW for 9,419 GWh), Mexico (953 / 6,282),
Indonesia (797 / 6,085), Italy (790 / 5,340), Japan (535 / 3,467),
New Zealand (435 / 2,774), Iceland (202 / 1,483), Costa Rica (163 /
1,145) and Kenya (129 MW / 1,088 GWh/year).
For direct use geothermal (including earth energy heat pumps), the
global total from 72 countries is 28,268 MW, providing 75,943 GWh a
year of thermal energy at an average capacity factor of 0.31,
ranging from 0.16 in Norway to 0.53 in Turkey. The U.S. is in top
spot with 7,817 MW and 8,678 GWh, followed by Sweden (3,840 /
10,001), China (3,687 / 12,605), Iceland (1,844 / 6,806), Turkey
(1,495 / 6,900), Japan (822 / 2,862), Italy (607 / 2,098), Norway
(600 / 857), Switzerland (582 / 1,175) and Germany (505 MW / 808 GWh).
Earth energy heat pumps are predominant in countries which report
low capacity factors and, if only heat pumps are considered, the
ranking would be US, Sweden, Denmark, China, Switzerland, Norway,
Canada, Germany, Austria and Finland for installed capacity, and
Sweden, US, China, Denmark, Switzerland, Norway, Germany, Canada,
Finland and Austria for annual energy use.
If only traditional direct use geothermal (excluding heat pumps) is
considered, the rankings are China, Iceland, Turkey, Japan, Hungary,
US, Italy, Brazil, Russia and New Zealand for installed capacity,
and China, Turkey, Iceland, Japan, US, Hungary, New Zealand, Italy,
Brazil and Russia for annual energy use. If energy use per land area
or population were considered, many of the smaller countries would
rank high, explains IGA president John Lund.
Over the past five years, 1,000 MW of geothermal electric capacity
has been commissioned, as well as 13,000 MW of thermal capacity in
direct use geothermal, most of which has been in earth energy heat
pumps, according to the report. Growth in the power industry has
increased 2.9% a year while direct use has increased 13.2% annually
in capacity and 7.5% in energy produced.
“The low growth rate for electric power is due mainly to the low
cost of competing natural gas plants,” says Lund. ”However, with the
recent increase in fossil fuel prices, along with some favorable tax
incentives being considered in the U.S., I expect to see the growth
of electric power increase substantially by 2010.”
The global use of geothermal displaces the annual emission of 131 Mt
of CO2, and saves the combustion of 267 million barrels of oil a
year, which is equivalent to 3.5 days of world consumption.
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