Inappropriate pace of geothermal development key theme at recent GEA Industry Briefing
Event at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill, Washington (source: flickr/ MDGovpics, creative commons)
Francisco Rojas
2 Mar 2015
Despite having steady growth, the geothermal industry is still a very small player at the worldwide energy mix, specially when compared to other renewables.
For those who were not able to attend the recent GEA Industry Briefing, the US National Energy Education Development Project has just released the key highlights of the event.
The beneficial effects of the 2005 Energy Policy Act have been noted, thanks to tax and loan incentives for particular energy projects and according to “Karl Gawell, Executive Director for the Geothermal Energy Association, said 34 new projects have come out since 2005.”
Despite these positive effects, on the bigger picture, geothermal is still a minimal percentage of the total energy generated in the US and Worldwide, and according to Pierre Audinet from The World Bank, “It’s still very tiny. The pace is just inappropriate.”
Growth in the US has also been slow and it was recommended that firms look at new developing markets for new projects, being traditional markets completely stagnant. In order to foster grwoth, “public support is critical. 76 to 90 percent of geothermal projects utilize public debt or equity support, Mafalda Duarte of Climate Investment Funds”
And a final point, “Knowledge of geothermal energy is extremely fragmented. Participants of the conference agreed: The wealth of knowledge surrounding geothermal energy is held in the hands of a few developers and engineers”. This makes the role of research and knowledge transfer a slow and complicated task.
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