Finance: "Geothermal electricity generation increased by an estimated 6% in 2018, much more than the average growth of the five previous years" - IEA

IEA Tracking Clean Energy Progress (IEA)

Geothermal still not on track to reach the Sustainable Development Scenario level

Global public investment in low-carbon energy technology research and development (R&D) grew again in 2018, by 5%, to $23 billion. As a share of GDP, public energy R&D funding of the major economies is not growing, yet more innovation in clean energy technologies is needed. Corporate low-carbon energy R&D spending also grew by 5% in 2018. Meanwhile, clean energy VC investment reached its highest ever level at nearly $7 billion, led by a sharp rise in investment in early-stage clean transport companies.

The International Energy Agency (IEA)’s latest and most comprehensive assessment of clean energy transitions shows that only 7 out of 45 technologies and sectors are on track with the IEA’s Sustainable Development Scenario (SDS): solar photovoltaics (PV), bioenergy for power, energy storage, electric vehicles (EVs), rail, lighting  and data centres. Of the others, 22 need improvement and 16 are off track - including geothermal.

Geothermal electricity generation increased by an estimated 6% in 2018, much more than the average growth of the five previous years. Nevertheless, the technology is still not on track to reach the SDS level, which would require a 10% annual increase in generation over 2018‑30. Policies tackling challenges associated with pre-development risks are needed to increase the deployment of geothermal for power.

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