Global:

Geothermal Power Approaches 12,000 Megawatts Worldwide (Investorideas.com)

 Flow Test of Tol-4 Well at Tolhuaca Geothermal Prospect, by Silke Lohmar, Santiago, Chile.

In 2013, world geothermal electricity-generating capacity grew 3 percent to top 11,700 megawatts across 24 countries. Although some other renewable energy technologies are seeing much faster growth-wind power has expanded 21 percent per year since 2008, for example, while solar power has grown at a blistering 53 percent annual rate-this was geothermal's best year since the 2007-08 financial crisis.

Geothermal power's relatively slower growth is not due to a paucity of energy to tap. On the contrary, the upper six miles of the earth's crust holds 50,000 times the energy embodied in the world's oil and gas reserves. But unlike the relative ease of measuring wind speed and solar radiation, test-drilling to assess deep heat resources prior to building a geothermal power plant is uncertain and costly. The developer may spend 15 percent of the project's capital cost during test-drilling, with no guarantee of finding a viable site.

Once built, however, a geothermal power plant can generate electricity 24 hours a day with low operation and maintenance costs-importantly because there is zero fuel cost. Over the life of the generator, geothermal plants are often cost-competitive with all other power sources, including fossil fuel and nuclear plants. This is true even without considering the many indirect costs of fossil- and nuclear-generated electricity that are not reflected in customers' monthly bills.

Read More.......