Geothermal Energy Markets Heating Up, Reports BCC Research (Market Watch)
Because geothermal energy uses renewable energy produced within the Earth, it involves no fossil fuel combustion, emits minimal CO2 into the atmosphere, and is sustainable as an inexhaustible resource. BCC Research reveals in its new report that the growing demand for electricity, increasing installations of power plant and transmission lines, and a geothermal potential of 8.9 GW for electricity generation should drive the overall demand and installations for geothermal power plants.
Geothermal energy is generated from within the Earth. The various sources of geothermal energy include radioactive decay occurring in the Earth's crust, extremely high-temperature magma, shallow grounds and hot rocks and hot water found beneath our planet's surface. The three main applications of geothermal energy include direct usage, geothermal heat pumps and electricity generation. In power generation, the three types of power plants are dry steam plants, flash steam plants and binary cycle power plants.
The global market for geothermal power generation was nearly $12.2 billion in 2014. This is expected to reach nearly $20.8 billion by 2020 from $12.9 billion in 2015, increasing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.0% from 2015 to 2020. This market had a total installed capacity of 12.2 GW in 2014. North America leads the market with a market share of 41.8%, or 5.1 GW, followed by Asia-Pacific and Europe with market shares of 38.5% and 17.5%, respectively. Read More....
