USA:

Role of Alternative Energy Sources: Geothermal Technology Assessment (PDF) (National Energy Technology Laboratory)

This report discusses the role of geothermal power in meeting the energy needs of the U.S. This includes an analysis of key issues related to geothermal power and, where applicable, the modeling of the environmental and cost aspects of geothermal power.

The U.S. has a large resource base of geothermal energy, but there are barriers to developing this resource. Assuming that sufficient technologies were to become available to support geothermal resource extraction, the total resource base within the U.S. is enormous. Development of only one percent of this resource would be equivalent to over 1,000 times the annual consumption of primary energy in the U.S.

However, the harnessing of a geothermal resource is constrained by several factors, including the character of geologic formations (which can affect cost and feasibility of drilling), temperature and depth of the resource, and the proximity of the resource to available infrastructure (including power lines and supply/access roads). These factors pose significant limitations with respect to the ongoing development of domestic geothermal resources.

Read More.....