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 * |
Extracted from the website of the Geothermal Energy Association - Washington, DC - USA
We need to find out which countries can benefit from these vast energy reserves.