Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
highest relative share of any country's total primary energy supply. However, as
Iceland only has around 300 000 inhabitants and is not particularly densely popu-
lated, its absolute installed capacity is still lower than that in other countries.
10000
MW
9000
others
Iceland
New Zealand
Japan
Italy
Indonesia
Mexico
Philippines
USA
8000
7000
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
1990
1995
2000
2005
Figure 10.11
Installed geothermal power plant capacity worldwide.
Data: IGS, iga.igg.cnr.it.
10.7 Outlook and Development Potential
Many countries are starting to develop the use of geothermal energy, but compared
to other renewable energy technologies, such as wind power and photovoltaics, the
annual growth rates for this energy source are quite modest.
The share of geothermal energy in the worldwide energy supply is therefore cur-
rently very low. But this technology has great potential. Another advantage of
geothermal energy is its constant availability. Compared to the fl uctuations in certain
renewable energy sources - such as solar energy, wind power and hydropower -
geothermal energy is not subject to any unpredictable daily or yearly changes in
available supply. This makes geothermal energy an important building block in a
carbon-free energy supply. As the share of renewable energies increases in overall
energy demand, supply reliability will also become a big factor. This will help to
raise interest in building new geothermal plants.
For economic reasons, countries with large geothermal resources will remain the
leaders in the fi eld. As prices for fossil fuels continue to rise, geothermal energy
will also become more interesting to countries with moderate geothermal resources.
