ThinkGeoEnergy – Geothermal Energy News

Updated map of geothermal electricity generation in U.S.

U.S. Energy Information Administration state rankings for geothermal electricity generation 2016 (source: U.S. EIA)

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has released their data about geothermal electricity generation for 2016.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has released their data about geothermal electricity generation for 2016. Here are some relevant data from the EIA report.

The United States leads the world in the amount of electricity generated with geothermal energy. Generally, geothermal electricity generation requires water or steam that generates high temperatures of 300° to 700°F (150° to 370° C). Geothermal power plants are generally built where geothermal reservoirs are located, within a mile or two (1.5 to 3 km) of the earth’s surface. In 2016, U.S. geothermal power plants produced about 17.4 billion kilowatthours (kWh), or 0.4% of total U.S. electricity generation. In 2016, seven states had geothermal power plants.

Share of U.S. geothermal electricity produced by each state, 2016:

1)   California = 72%

2)   Nevada = 22%

3)   Utah = 3%

4)   Hawaii = 1%

5)   Oregon = 1%

6)   Idaho = <1%

7)   New Mexico = <1%

In 2014, 21 countries, including the United States, generated a total of about 69 billion kWh of electricity from geothermal energy. The Philippines was the second-largest geothermal electricity producer after the United States, at about 10 billion kWh of electricity, which equaled approximately 14% of the Philippines’ total electricity generation. Kenya was the seventh-largest producer of electricity from geothermal energy at about 5 billion kWh of electricity, but it had the largest share of its total electricity generation from geothermal energy at about 44%.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Use of Geothermal Energy, Updated May 18, 2017.

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