Geothermal energy has been harnessed for recreational uses for millennia, but only for electricity generation for a little over a century. Although geothermal is unique among renewables for its baseload and renewable heat provision capabilities, uptake continues to lag far behind that of solar and wind. This is mainly attributable to (i) uncertainties over resource availability in poorly-explored reservoirs and (ii) the concentration of full-lifetime costs into early-stage capital expenditure (capex).
Recent advances in reservoir characterization techniques are beginning to narrow the bounds of exploration uncertainty, both by improving estimates of reservoir geometry and properties, and by providing pre-drilling estimates of temperature at depth. Advances in drilling technologies and management have potential to significantly lower initial capex, while operating expenditure is being further reduced by more effective reservoir management—supported by robust models—and increasingly efficient energy conversion systems (flash, binary and combined-heat-and-power).
Advances in characterization and modelling are also improving management of shallow low-enthalpy resources that can only be exploited using heat-pump technology. Taken together with increased public appreciation of the benefits of geothermal, the technology is finally ready to take its place as a mainstream renewable technology, exploited far beyond its traditional confines in the world’s volcanic regions.
Papers Available:
1. Geothermal Energy: Delivering on the Global Potential - Introduction
2. 3D Geothermal Modelling of the Mount Amiata Hydrothermal System in Italy
3. Seismic Velocity/Temperature Correlations and a Possible New Geothermometer: Insights from Exploration of a High-Temperature Geothermal System on Montserrat, West Indies
4. Correction: Rees, S. and Curtis, R. National Deployment of Domestic Geothermal Heat Pump Technology: Observations on the UK Experience 1995–2013. Energies 2014, 7, 5460–5499, UK
5. National Deployment of Domestic Geothermal Heat Pump Technology: Observations on the UK Experience 1995–2013, UK
6. Geothermal Potential Evaluation for Northern Chile and Suggestions for New Energy Plans, Chile and Italy
7. Geophysical Methods for Monitoring Temperature Changes in Shallow Low Enthalpy Geothermal Systems, Belgium, USA, France
8. Geothermal Power Growth 1995–2013—A Comparison with Other Renewables, Switzerland
9. Gamma-ray Spectrometry in Geothermal Exploration: State of the Art Techniques, UK
10. On the Design and Response of Domestic Ground-Source Heat Pumps in the UK
11. Thermoeconomic Analysis of Hybrid Power Plant Concepts for Geothermal Combined Heat and Power Generation, Germany
12. Deep Geothermal Energy Production in Germany
13. Estimating Limits for the Geothermal Energy Potential of Abandoned Underground Coal Mines: A Simple Methodology, Spain
14. Thermal-Economic Modularization of Small, Organic Rankine Cycle Power Plants for Mid-Enthalpy Geothermal Fields, Germany
15. Geothermal Power Plant Maintenance: Evaluating Maintenance System Needs Using Quantitative Kano Analysis, Iceland
16. The Marsili Volcanic Seamount (Southern Tyrrhenian Sea): A Potential Offshore Geothermal Resource, Italy
17. Determining the Maximum Depth of Hydrothermal Circulation Using Geothermal Mapping and Seismicity to Delineate the Depth to Brittle-Plastic Transition in Northern Honshu, Japan
18. Implications of Spatial Variability in Heat Flow for Geothermal Resource Evaluation in Large Foreland Basins: The Case of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin, Canada
19. Differences in Public Perceptions of Geothermal Energy Technology in Australia
20. Temperatures and Heat Flows in a Soil Enclosing a Slinky Horizontal Heat Exchanger, Czech Republic
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