The Global Geothermal Industry is Booming in 2014

Globally, the geothermal power market is booming, growing at a rate of 4-5%. Almost 700 geothermal projects are under development in 76 countries.

The effects of climate change are helping spur investment in clean energy and geothermal projects are on the rise and expected to continue to develop rapidly throughout the coming years, according to a new report from the Geothermal Energy Association (GEA).

In fact, while the average geothermal plant in the US is 25 megawatts, both Kenya and Ethiopia are developing projects that will generate more than a 100 megawatts. Chile, too, is truly walking the walk, with more than 50 projects slated for development next year.

Indonesia alone has 4,400 MW of planned capacity additions, while the US only has 1,000 MW in the pipeline for development.

So, given that domestic geothermal project development merely held steady, is it fair to say that the US is slacking a bit on this green energy opportunity? Despite holding on to the lead position for number of projects, the short answer seems to be “yes.”

While the report highlights 25 relevant pieces of legislation that were enacted last year to support the market, the reality is that these new policies affected only roughly 25% of state administrations. Yet, properly engineered geothermal applications can be utilized in essentially all regions of the US. Some highlights from the report indicate that in the U.S.:

• The geothermal power industry reached about 3,442 MW at the end of 2013 (shown in Figure 5 of the report). New or refurbished power plants became operational in Utah, Nevada, California, and New Mexico. In total the U.S. industry added about 85 MW of new capacity additions in 2013.
• In 2013 there were about 1,000 MW of planned capacity additions under development and about 3,100 MW of geothermal resource under development.
• After a quiet year for geothermal power domestically, announcements in Nevada and California are likely to greatly increase the installed capacity of geothermal power in the United States over the next 20 years.
• Upcoming plans announced by Imperial Irrigation District at the Salton Sea Geothermal Resource Area could increase U.S. nameplate capacity by 50% over the next 20 years.
• Leading geothermal states, such as California, Nevada and Utah have significant amount of geothermal power potential with about 50%, 60%, and 60% of their estimated geothermal resource respectively, remain untapped.

So it appears that much of our nation is still engulfed in a variety of myths and misperceptions on the potential of geothermal, both for power and heating and cooling opportunities. There are really only a select handful of states that are gung ho on engaging this energy source, with California leading the way by leaps and bounds. Yet, even they’ve still untapped roughly 50% of their estimated geothermal capacity.

As a versatile, reliable energy source, geothermal energy is inarguably an opportunity that is too rarely discussed – even amidst the LEED community. Are you interested in learning more to support this initiative? Consider becoming LEED accredited and/or a GEA member. There is a plethora of information and you may discover that a geothermal heating and cooling system is ideal for your next building project.