The worldwide demand for power is accelerating each year in the developed world and is further exacerbated by the rapid development of China, India and other third world countries.

According to a 2005 ENEL report, geothermal supplies 8900 MW to 24 countries worldwide. Geothermal energy today meets the total electricity needs of some 60 million people worldwide — roughly the population of the United Kingdom.

Since 2000, geothermal generation has tripled in France, Russia, and Kenya. Three new countries—Austria, Germany, and Papua New Guinea—have been added to the list of those producing power. Countries as diverse as the Philippines, Iceland, and El Salvador generate an average of 25 percent of their electricity from geothermal sources, and geothermal serves 30 percent of Tibet’s energy needs.

The Kyoto Protocol and Global Warming are mainstream topics taken very seriously and are behind the rapid adoption of renewable energy technologies as an alternative to fossil fuel based generation.

Renewable energy is being adopted worldwide even at premium prices and the higher prices for oil in recent years has made renewable energy more competitive than ever. Energy demand is forecast to remain strong for many decades as the emerging economies continue to develop.

Geothermal Potential

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.