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Geothermal Energy : Delivering on the Global Potential

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Geothermal energy has been harnessed for recreational uses for millennia, but only
for electricity generation for a little over a century. Although geothermal is unique amongst
renewables for its baseload and renewable heat provision capabilities, uptake continues to lag
far behind that of solar and wind. This is mainly attributable to (i) uncertainties over resource
availability in poorly-explored reservoirs and (ii) the concentration of full-lifetime costs into
early-stage capital expenditure (capex). Recent advances in reservoir characterization
techniques are beginning to narrow the bounds of exploration uncertainty, both by improving
estimates of reservoir geometry and properties, and by providing pre-drilling estimates of
temperature at depth. Advances in drilling technologies and management have potential to
significantly lower initial capex, while operating expenditure is being further reduced by more
effective reservoir management—supported by robust models—and increasingly efficient
energy conversion systems (flash, binary and combined-heat-and-power). Advances in
characterization and modelling are also improving management of shallow low-enthalpy
resources that can only be exploited using heat-pump technology. Taken together with
increased public appreciation of the benefits of geothermal, the technology is finally ready to
take its place as a mainstream renewable technology, exploited far beyond its traditional
confines in the world’s volcanic regions.

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Detail Information

Series Title

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Call Number

622 GEO g

Publisher

Basel : MDPI - Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute., 2015

Collation

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Language

English

ISBN/ISSN

978-3-03842-133-7

Classification

622

Content Type

text

Media Type

computer

Carrier Type

online resource

Edition

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Subject(s)

Energy

Specific Detail Info

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Statement of Responsibility

Penyunting, Paul L. Younger

Other Information

Cataloger

YD

Source

-

Validator

maya

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