| Abstract |
Based on country update paper submitted to the World Geothermal Congress 2010 (WGC2010), the following figures on worldwide geothermal electric and direct-use capacity are reported: Use Installed Power MW Energy Use GWh/yr Capacity Factor Countries Reporting Electricity 10,715 (MWe) 67,246 0.72 24 Direct-Use 48,493 (MWt) 117,740 0.28 78 Electricity has been produced from geothermal energy in 27 countries; however, Greece, Taiwan and Argentina have shut down their plants due to environmental and economic reasons. Since 2000 (WGC2000) the installed capacity in the world has increased almost 3,000 MWe. The leading countries are the United States (3093 MWe), Philippines (1904 MWe), Indonesia (1,197 MWe), Mexico (958 MWe), and Italy (843 MWe). Direct-use of geothermal energy normally uses temperatures below 150oC. The most significant change since 2000 (WGC200) is the large increase in geothermal (ground-source) heat pumps, growing at an annual rate of over 20%. In terms of annual energy use, geothermal heat pumps account for 49%, bathing and swimming 25% and space heating almost 15%. The leading countries for direct-use are the United States (12,611 MWt), China (8,898 MWt), Sweden (4,460 MWt), Germany (2,485 MWt), and Japan (2,100 MWt), almost all due to the installation of geothermal heat pumps. The energy savings amounts to 268 million barrels (40 million tonnes) of fuel oil equivalent, saving 38 million tons of carbon and 123 million tons of carbon dioxide annually when compared to fuel oil. Development in the future will include greater emphases on combine heat-and-power plants, increased interest in agricultural crop drying and refrigeration in tropic climates, the installation of binary power plants in remote sites, and the installation of geothermal heat pumps worldwide for both heating and cooling. |