Geothermal Power Stations, Introduction

Geothermal energy, contrary to solar and wind, does not depend on weather and can supply baseload or dispatchable power. In 2016, geothermal energy worldwide capacity was 12.5 GW, producing 75,000 GWh per year. Although not evenly distributed geographically, the potential is very important, particularly if the R&D of advanced systems will be actively pursued.

There is a long history of using geothermal heat since the Roman times. The development of geothermal usage for electricity production was first done in Italy in 1911, by 1940 200 MW were produced using steam turbines in 1911. Other industrial countries are Japan, New Zealand, and Iceland. In addition, developing countries such as the Philippines, with abundant geothermal activity followed. The list of these countries includes the USA, Indonesia, Central America, and Kenya that are also listed as geothermal users.

This section covers the nature of geothermal energy resources, their utilization, conversion technologies, as well as...