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Geothermal

Page history last edited by Malcolm 14 years, 1 month ago

Geothermal Potential

 

How much electricity can geothermal supply worldwide?

A 1999 study shows that geothermal resources using existing technology have the potential to support between 35,448 and 72,392 MW of worldwide electrical generation capacity. Using enhanced technology, the geothermal resources could support between 65,576 and 138,131 MW of electrical generation capacity. Assuming a 90% availability factor, which is well within the range experienced by geothermal power plants, this electric capacity could produce as much as 1,089 Billion kWh of electricity annually. The estimates produced for world energy potential by this study are comparable to the USGS estimate of the identified US resource base. It did not assess the limits of geothermal resource base, nor the potential for new development with significantly different technologies, such as engineered geothermal systems.

 

An estimate of world geothermal resources made by the Energy and Geoscience Institute for the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology stated the following for different geologic regimes:

 

Geologic Regime: Barrels Oil Equivalent times 10 to the ninth

 

Magmatic Systems 2,400,000
Crustal Heat 79,000,000
Thermal Acquifers 130
Geopressured Basins 410,000
Total Oil Reserves (for comparison) 5,300 *

 

 

  • National Academy of Sciences, 1990: includes crude oil, heavy oil, tar sands, and oil shale.

 

 

  1. Google to boost green technologies 09/02/08

 

Extracted from the website of the Geothermal Energy Association - Washington, DC - USA

 

Group members

  • Dick
  • Malcolm

 

We need to find out which countries can benefit from these vast energy reserves.

 

Sources

 

 

 

  1. US has 2000 times its energy needs - Geothermal  18/09/10
  2. Australian Geothermal
  3. Australian Hot Fractured Rock Update 14/09/08
  4. Geothermal Plants in US 30/08/08
  5. Where is the Geothermal Potential?
  6. US Senator Promotes
  7. Geothermal Update

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