IGA NEWS1

I GA New s No. 85

New slet t er of t he I nt ernat ional Geot herm al Association
Quart erly No. 85

IGA ACTIVITIES
Message from the President
Roland N. Horne
Greetings IGA Members, and I hope that those of you
in the Northern Hemisphere have been enjoying yoursummer (and that those in the South have been enjoying
your winter!) In my letter this time, I’d like to describe“how I spent my summer vacation”… My narrative isabout geothermal education.
Our international geothermal community has hosted
several international education programs over the years, inKyushu (Japan), Pisa (Italy), Auckland (New Zealand),Reykjavik (Iceland), Mexicali (Mexico), and Skopje(Macedonia), as well as many other geothermal courses
and programs within the world’s universities. The(northern) summer of 2011 saw the inaugural class ofgeothermal students sitting down to work at the NationalG e o t h e r m a l A c a d e my ( N G A ) i n Re n o, N e va d a ,representing the first comprehensive geothermal education
program in the US. The idea of the program came fromthe US Department of Energy in 2009, in response to
rapid expansion of geothermal development activity in the
US that was encountering difficulty hiring personnel withthe appropriate geothermal skills. From that seed of anidea, the program was designed and constructed by aconsortium of US universities and organizations, including
my own university, Stanford, together with Cornell,
Southern Methodist University, Oregon Institute ofTechnology, University of Utah, West Virginia University,and importantly University of Nevada at Reno. Important
contributions to the program also came from industry,

Contents

IGA ACTIVITIES
Message from the President

1

AMERICAS/Geothermal energy applications in the SouthAmerican mining industry: Examples ofgeologic and financial synergies with2
global applications
EUROPE/News from Europe

4

AFRICA
Kenya / Tapping into the geothermal energy
to power the East African Region beyond thenation5

ASIA
China /3rd China GSHP Trade High Level Forum
held in Xi´an, China
6
OCEANIA
Australia /Update from Australia
New Zealand/ Update from New Zealand

6
7

INTERNATIONAL
Global and regional geothermal potentials
9
Geothermal in international energy strategy papers 12
UPCOMING EVENTS
Geothermal meetings2

including classes in drilling taught by Lou Capuano, Jr. and
Lou Capuano III, and classes in power plants by Ron
DiPippo. Under the leadership of Prof. Wendy Calvin at
UNR, the course was divided into eight subject modules,
each taught by a professor or group of professors fromthe participating universities and organizations. 27
students attended the entire eight week sequence, andanother 27 students sat in one or more of the individual
modules.
Although this is a concept that has been applied tovery good effect in other international geothermal
education programs, this was a first for the US.
As reported by Wendy Calvin, a total of 54 students
took advantage of the course offerings in summer 2011.
More than half of those students were from industry,
government or academic research positions and they werealready working in the field. The numbers are shown in
the following table.

Roland Horne teaching a class at the NGAw w w.geot herm al- energy.org

July - September 2011

2
Full 8 week
Ind. Module

Total

I GA New s No. 85
27 Grad
27 Industry
Academic
Government
Undergrad
54

21 US
17 International
7
5
4

45
9

I spent a week in Reno in July, teaching the reservoir
engineering module. The experience was an inspiration.
The students in the program were an energetic bunch,enthusiastic about geothermal energy, and working hard(very hard) to succeed in the courses. As I have observed
and experienced in other international education programs,
the NGA student group was notable for its cohesiveness,and the camaraderie among its members. The friendships
made within this group are, I’m sure, likely to last for along time, especially as these inaugural class graduates will
surely encounter each other again and again in thegeothermal industry.
It is on this youthful community that I would like toreflect. The establishment of a new generation ofgeothermal experts is vital to the continuation andproliferation of our field. Geother mal energ ydevelopment calls for a broad range of skills, and demands
versatile and talented individuals. As more experienced
experts retire, new people must be available, and willing, totake their place. The provision of a new talent pool is arich prize for our field. The NGA, and its counterparts inthe world, have been brilliantly successful in providing thisopportunity to new graduates.
But skills alone are not sufficient to drive geothermal
development forward. Our field is considered sufficiently“unusual” by many, so that those motivated to join it
require a degree of pioneering spirit and a dose ofe va ng e lic a l e nthusia sm. I be lie ve tha t it is thiscombination of innovation and zest that gives ourgeothermal classes the personal cohesiveness that they allseem to enjoy.
With passionate groups of young people launching out
from our educational programs and institutions, the futureof geothermal energy is in good hands!
With Best Regards
Roland N. Horne

AMERICAS
Geothermal Energy
Applications in the SouthAmerican Mining Industry:
Examples of Geologic andFinancial Synergies With Global
Applications
By Cully Cavness and Andrés Ruzo
Mining presents a number of appealing advantages to thegeothermal industry as a potential partner and consumer

July - September 2011

UPCOMING EVENTSWorld Renewable Energy Congress 2011, 17-19
O c t o b e r, B a l i , I n d o n e s i a . We b s i t e : h t t p : / /wreeec2011bali.com
GRC 35th Annual Meeting, 23-26 October 2011,
San Diego, CA, USA. Website: www.geothermal.org
Geothermal Power Forum and Networking Event,
9 November 2011, Calg ar y, Canada. Website:www.cangea.ca
9th Asian Geothermal Symposium, 7-9 November,
Ibusiki, Kagoshima, Japan. Website: http://unit.
aist.go.jp/georesenv/english/event-e/asia9.html
Sustainable Earth Science Conference, 8-11
November 2011, Valencia, Spain. Website: http://
www.eage.org/events/index.php?eventid=551&Open
divs=s3
Der Geothermiekongress 2011, 15-17 November
2011, Bochum, Germany.
Website: www.geothermie.de
Australian Geothermal Energy Conference 2011,16-18 November 2011, Melbourne, Australia. Website:www.ausgeothermal.com
Kenya Geothermal Conference, 21-23 November
2011, Nairobi, Kanya. Website: www.gdc.co.ke
33rd New Zealand Geothermal Workshop, 21-23
November 2011, Auckland, New Zealand. Website:www.nzgeothermal2011.org.nz
Geopower Europe 2011, 5-7 December 2011, Milan,
It a l y. We b si t e : h t t p : / / w w w 2 . g re e n p owe rc o nferences.co.uk
37th Stanford Workshop on Geothermal Reservoir
Engineering, 30 Jan-1st Feb 2012, Stanford, CA,
USA. Website: http://pangea.stanford.edu/ERE/
research/ geoth/conference/workshop.html
of electricity. This article will explore the aspects ofgeology, logistics, and finance that enable valuable mininggeothermal collaborations, and will conclude with anumber of examples from Argentina, Peru, and Chile.
The mining-geothermal opportunity begins withgeology, and the fact that many important ore veins
precipitated from ancient hydrothermal systems. For
example gold lodes often precipitate as hydrofracture
breccias where heated subter ranean waters withconcentrations of dissolved gold cool and precipitate thegold in fractures and fissures. That cooling can occur for avariety of reasons ranging from upward convection awayfrom a heat source (short term) or changing geologic
conditions causing the migration of a heat source (longterm). In either the short or long-term case there is apossibility that active hydrothermal systems may still exist

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I GA New s No. 85
in the general vicinity of ancient hydrothermal systems(mineral deposits). Therein lies an opportunity. Simply
put—today’s mineral deposit was yesterday’s geothermal
system.
Logistics constitute the second major pillar of thecollaboration between geothermal developers and miners.
On one hand we find that there are many low and medium
temperature g eother mal resources that remained
unde ve lope d be c a use the y a re situa te d fa r fromtransmission grids, and the projects’ economics do notjustify transmission build out. On the other hand we findthat many mines are also located in remote locations andmust often import huge volumes of expensive diesel fuelto power their mining and rock crushing operations (often
over 100MW of demand).
Chad McConathy, President of Meridian Power LLC, a
Denver-based geothermal developer, explains that “there
are quite a few mines located throughout the world thathave an increasing demand for power due to expansion,and have facilities often co-located with geothermal
resources. In many of these expansions, the mining
companies often face high costs to expand onsite utility
infrastructure as they grow in these remote locations, andcould overcome these challenges, both for themselves andgeothermal developers if the geothermal resource wasconverted to electricity and sold to the mine.”
T he synergies don’t stop there either. Mining
concessions often include rights to geothermal resources(termed “subsurface vapors” in Argentina’s mining leases,
for example), and of course miners typically complete
extensive geophysical and exploration drilling research
programs before developing prospects. Further, mining
companies will often have existing field offices andresources for drilling and well engineering. Accordingly, by
riding on the coat tails of a mining project the savvy
geothermal developer can significantly decrease upfront
exploration and infrastructure costs.
Public relations and regulatory synergies abound as
well. The mining industry can always benefit from acleaner, more environmentally friendly reputation, andshifting from diesel consumption to geothermal could
certainly be one effective tactic for miners to decrease
pollution and improve their image. The reduced risk offuel price fluctuation is another byproduct of this strategy.
The third tenet of geothermal-mining synergy is thecritical step of finance. Geothermal promoters around theworld bang their heads against walls as lender after lenderrecoils from the high upfront investment and delayed
payback periods of their geothermal projects. Miners canprovide geother mal developers with a secure anddependable PPA (because they will be the direct andsingular consumer of the power), which significantly
decreases the perceived risk for banks and equity investors
alike. Further, large mining firms can generally help
arrange project finance for geothermal developments.
Remember that mines, like geothermal resources, arew w w.geot herm al- energy.org

3
meant to be long-term assets, so the financing of thepower plant and its consumer often aligns quite nicely.
No conversation on South American mining iscomplete without mentioning Peru. Peru has consistently
been one of South America’s (and the world’s) leadingmineral producing countries and is currently making its
first steps into the geothermal sector.
Currently there are no working geothermal projects in
Peru. However, there is much to come. As of April 2011,
the first geothermal concessions came up for bid in Peru,
and many project are in their exploration stag e.
Furthermore the “Geothermal Map of Peru” is currently
under development, which, beyond yielding a heat flow
map, will also quantify the total geothermal energy
potential, as well as temperature-at-depth maps similar to
those of the US (www.google.org/egs).
In creating the “Geothermal Map of Peru,” many ofthe major supporters facilitating the study have beenmining companies. To them, geothermal energy presents
multiple opportunities. Firstly, it is a way to cut costs byoffsetting expensive diesel consumption, particularly
because many Andean mines are at high elevations, which
can cut the efficiency of diesel engines in half. Additionally,
as a green, base-load, local power source, geothermal canbe used to generate social capital (i.e. pro-environment
marketing) as well as provide an extra revenue stream (i.e.
base-load carbon credit sales). Furthermore, as geothermal(like mining) is a geo-economic industry, it presents
mining companies with the opportunity to diversify into a
new market sector using the financial and technical knowhow they already possess.
Miners have experience dealing with long-term project
financing, high exploration risk, and finding resources inthe subsurface. As a result, it is no surprise that many have
now expanded to the geothermal sector. The best
example of this is Ross Beaty of Pan-American Silver(involved in many of Peru’s major mines), who created
Alterra Power Corp. (for merly Magma Energ y), a
dominant player in the international geothermal market.
Another success story is Tom Ogryzlo of Plata-Peru
Resources, who was one of the founders of Polaris
Energy (a geothermal company that is now part of Ram
Power).
The list continues to Barrick Gold, Minero Andina,and Geotermia Andina, which represent just a glimpse of
the geothermal-mining cooperation in planning and/or
execution stages in South America. GeoThermHydro, theIcelandic geothermal consulting group based in Santiago,
believes that the opportunity for geothermal energy to
power new and old mines in the Chilean Andes is one of
the greatest opportunities facing Chile’s renewable energy
industry.
All geo-economic industries (geothermal, mining, oil &gas) require long-term strategy and planning, a strong
stomach for risk and high capital costs, and a mastery of
producing resources from the subsurface. Project finance,

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I GA New s No. 85

PPAs, and high-level government interactions are also partof the everyday job description for a geo-economic entity.
For miners, these job requirements come naturally;
therefore, their natural affinity and understanding greatly
lowers the barriers of entry into geothermal markets,making geothermal development a low-hanging fruit formining companies.
Cully Cavness recently spent two months working in
the Argentine and Chilean geothermal industries as partof a Thomas Watson Fellowship, and has now transitioned
into a new role as Business Development Manager at
Global Geothermal. Andrés Ruzo is a Ph.D. Candidate atSouthern Methodist University (SMU) creating the“Geothermal Map of Peru” for his dissertation which hasreceived grants from National Geographic and the AAPG,
among others. He is currently conducting field work in
Peru, where he is working closely with South Americanmining and hydrocarbon firms.

EUROPE
EGEC: NEWS from EUROPE
International Energy Agency
Launches New Publication
May 31st, 2011
EGEC welcomes the publication of a new
International Energ y Agency Report dealing withRenewable Energy Technologies, which was launched on
May 24th last.
For more information see here: EGEC Comments on
IEA BookN e w Tr a i n i n g C o u r s e i n D e e p
Geothermal Systems in Switzerland
June 8th, 2011
A new training course in deep geothermal systems isbeing organised by the Centre for Hydrogeology andGeothermics of the University of Neuchatel (Switzerland).
The course includes modules of 5 days each between
November 2011 and May 2012 in Neuchatel. The
participants include scientists and engineers from the fields

of earth sciences and energy. The main objective of thiscourse is to train specialists in deep geothermal systems,
who will be capable afterwards in their company or public
institution of planning, setting up and leading parts or the
totality of geothermal projects. Participants who complete
the training will receive a Certificate of Advanced Studies.
All the courses will be given in English by international
experts in geothermics.
More information can be found online or please see
below for additional information.
CAS Neuchatel Information Leaflet
CAS Registration Form

Newsletter from Géothermie Soultz
Launched
June 14th, 2011
The team from Géothermie Soultz, the innovative
deep geothermal project located at Soultz-sous-Forêts inNorthern France, have just launched a newsletter packed
with information on the project, and associated activities.
It is available online, and subscribe to keep up-to-date!

EGEC’s Reaction to the IEA
Geothermal Technology Roadmap
June 14th, 2011
EGEC welcomes the International Energy Agency
having launched its Technology Roadmap for Geothermal
Heat and Power, which outlines the key actions that need
to be undertaken globally to further develop geothermalheat and power. EGEC’s reaction to the Roadmap outlines
our key positions and responses.
The report itself can be downloaded from the IEA
website.

I TA G r o u p & Te r n a E n e r g y W i nConcessions for Geothermal
Exploration in Greece
June 27th, 2011
A consortium of ITA Group S.A and Terna Energy
S.A have been announced as winners of Greece’s call for
tenders and owners of the geothermal concessions ofSouth Chios, Samothraki, Evros Basin and Nestos Basin –GEOTHERMICS
International Journal of Geothermal Research and its Applications

Published under the auspices of the International Geothermal Association
Content of the latest issues: http:/www.elsevier.com/locate/geothermics

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I GA New s No. 85
Xanthi – Porto Lagos for geothermal exploration during
the next 5 years.
Under the terms of their agreement with the Ministryof Energ y, they must invest 95 million euros in
geothermal exploration in the next 2 years.

German Parliament Adopts New FiT
for Geothermal
July 8th, 2011
Amendment of the Renewable Electricity Law inGermany (Feed-in Tariff). The new tariff for geothermal
power is given in § 28:- 0.25 Euro per kWh for all geothermal power (no further
limitation)- 0.05 Euro per kWh additional price for EGS (after
German petrathermal definition)
The start of annual reduction of 5 % (for new plants
going on the grid) has been postponed to 2018.
After the last reading and final decision on the law in
the Parliament (Bundestag), the 2nd chamber (Bundesrat,delegates of the Laender) today passed the law without
objection. The new values will take effect from 1 January
2012.

AFRICA
Kenya

Tapping Into the Geothermal
Energy to Power the EastA f r i c a n Re g i o n B e y o n d t h e
NationMinisters and technical experts in Ministries of Energy
and/ or Mines from the member countries of the African
Rift Geothermal Development Facility (ARGeo), met atthe Headquarters of the United Nations Environment
Program in Nairobi, Kenya, on 2 September 2011 for a
High Level Geothermal Meeting. The UNEP issued thefollowing press release:“ The two-day meeting organized by UNEP in
collaboration with the Government of Kenya,
Geothermal Development Company (GDC), andKenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) is
expected to raise awareness and sensitize high level
decision makers about the unique development
opportunities that geothermal energy presents and how
member countries can benefit from ARGeo’s support
services, to accelerate the development of theirgeothermal resources.
“ Kenya is a concrete example of a country making atransition to a low carbon, resource efficient Green
Economy. Using Kenya as an illustrative geothermal
success story, the ARGeo high level meeting discussed,w w w.geot herm al- energy.org

5among other issues, challenges and opportunities fordevelopment of geothermal resource in the East
African Rift region, strategic approaches indevelopment of geothermal resources, responses ofva r i o u s g e o t h e r m a l p r o g r a m m e s t o d e ve l o p
geothermal energy, country support for resource
mobilization and financing of geothermal projects aswell as best practices and lessons to be learnt.
“ Geothermal energy accounts for about 15% of Kenya’s
current power generation in operation, with anestimated potential of 4,000 MW. Preliminary estimatesalong the whole African Rift indicate that there might
be some 6 GW or more of geothermal potential in thisregion“ The ARGeo project was proposed with a view toaccelerating the development of this large untapped
geothermal resource potential in the East African Riftregion.
“ The meeting will lead to a common understanding of
the objectives and outcomes of the ARGeo project andto the development of strategic partnerships andsynergies with the other major geothermal support
programmes in the region.
“ As one of its key outcomes, the meeting is expected toresult in transfer of adequate knowledge about theobjectives and outcomes of the ARGeo project, anddevelopment of a strategic framework for ARGeo
projects in line with requirements of the othergeothermal support programmes in the region. ”
The meeting included field visits for the High level
officials from ARGeo member countries to the Olkaria
geothermal power plant, and to Menengai geothermal
fields for the technical experts. The press release went on
to explain that Olkaria is the first geothermal field in
Africa where geothermal energy resource was utilized forelectricity power g eneration. It has an estimatedgeothermal potential of more than 1,000 MWe. At present,
the current installed capacity is about 209 MWe. 240MWe
power development is in progress at Olkaria I and IV due
for commissioning in 2013 and a further 50MW at Olkaria
III to be commissioned in 2014. Menengai is the secondg eother mal field outside of Olkaria. Geother mal
Development Company (GDC) has completed drilling of
two wells and drilling is in progress for two others. The
first well is currently under discharge test with output of
about 10MW while the second well is heating. It is
anticipated that a 5-10MW power plant will be operational
at Menengai by 2012.
The press release also noted that the ARGeo project is
supported by GEF with co-funding from the Icelandic
International Development Agency (ICEIDA), theGerman Federal Institute of Geosciences and Natural
Resources (BGR), the United Nations UniversityGeothermal Training Programme (UNU-GTP), and theInternational Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

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I GA New s No. 85

ASIA
China

3 r d C h i n a G S H P Tra d e H i g hLevel Forum held in Xi’an, China
Keyan Zheng, GCES, China
The 3rd China GSHP Trade High Level Forum was held
successfully on 27-28 August 2011 in Xi’an, China. The
Geothermal Council of China Energy Society (GCES) andthe China Committee of the International Ground Source
Heat Pump Association (IGSHPA-China) jointly hosted
the activities. The Periodical Office of “Ground Source
H e a t P u m p ” a n d t h e C h i n a We b o f G S H P
http://www.dyrbw.com organized the events. A total of
340 participants from all over China attended the forum
activities.
The representative of the Ministry of Land andResources (MLR) gave a speech. MLR has put national
resources into carrying out a survey and assessment for
shallow geothermal energy resources in key cities, as apublic contribution to showing geological conditions forthe feasibility of GSHP. The representative from the
Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development(MOHURD) also gave a speech, introducing the status of
GSHP applications and growth trends in China. Speakers
from the cities and provinces of Beijing, Shenyang, Hubei,
Hebei, Jiangsu, Chongqing and Henan, etc., reported on
local progress. Representatives of industry described theirexperience in research and production. Such dialogue
between experts and participants is welcome, and 50
papers were selected from the proceedings of the forum
for further widespread exchange.
An Award ceremony was held during the activities. The
Chinese ground source heat pump industry organizedpublic appraisal activities for “Ten Strong Enterprises ofChinese Ground Source Heat Pump Trade” in the year of
2009 and 2010. They were classified into two types: heatParticipants visit the GSHP system in the Urban Gate project

pump products and system integration. This activity
established standards and examples for the ground source
heat pump industry in China.
Shaanxi Sijichun Central Air Conditioning Co. Ltd andHundred Group enterprises sponsored the forum activities.
More than 30 companies and manufacturers concernedwith heat pumps, air conditioning and accessories attended
the exhibition. Participants visited two demonstration
GSHP projects in the city. The Urban Gate project is agroup of international modernization buildings with a
total construction area of over 100,000 m2. It used GSHP
for space heating and cooling to meet 60% of base load,with peak load met by other sources from the city heating
supply and a LiBr refrigerator respectively. The 41st World
Gardening Expo 2011, which was held in Xi’an, usedground source heat pumps in the Changan Pagoda, theHall of Nature and the Gate.
GSHP utilization has reached 150 million m2 of area in
China, putting it second in the world. The 3 rd China
GSHP Trade High Level Forum was a success. It has well
promoted exchange and growth for the GSHP business in
China. Many participants said that they would like toattend the annual forum next year.

OCEANIA
Australia

Update from Australia

The rostrum platform of the 3rd China GSHP Trade High Level
Forum

July - September 2011

Graeme Beardsmore, Hot Dry Rocks Pty
LtdPetrather m Limited (PTR) has become the second
Australian company to develop an underground stimulated
fracture system for an Engineered Geothermal System(EGS). PTR carried out hydraulic fracture stimulation in its
4,000 m deep Paralana 2 well in South Australia during theperiod of 11th to 15th July, injecting a total of 3.1 million
litres of water at pressures up to 9,000 psi (62 MPa) andw w w.geot herm al- energy.org

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I GA New s No. 85
New Zealand

4 km
PARALANA 2
Hydraulic fracture stimulation results

27

90

00

5 km

m

E

6

27

80

00

m

Note from the editor: The following contributions are fromthe current NZGA newsletter which illustrates the very
active situation over there. Our thanks go to the NZ
Geothermal Association for permission to reproduce
these extracts (compiled jointly by Brian White, Spence
McClintock, Colin Harvey and Connie Crookshanks).

8
65

00

0

m

N

E

66

57

0

00

m

N

Time, GMT

17
22

:0 0

:0 0

/7

23

0

:0 0

4 :0

16

/7

10

3 /1

3 /1

sustained pump rates up to 27 L/s. PTR’s seismic
monitoring array detected more than 4,000 micro-seismic
events during the stimulation, the largest being magnitude
M2.6. A preliminary interpretation of ‘located’ events
suggests that the stimulation program enhanced a zone
extending about 900 m east of Paralana 2, over a depth
interval 3,700–4,000 m. PTR expects an average reservoir
temperature >180°C over this depth interval. Wellheadpressure of 3,940 psi (27MPa) suggests that the reservoir isover-pressured.
Also in July, the Australian Government issued somemajor announcements around proposed legislation for a‘Carbon Tax’. The proposal includes the introduction of atax on 1 July 2012 at a starting price of $23 per tonne of
CO 2. The price is to increase annually and eventuallyt r a n si t i o n i n t o a ‘ C a r b o n Tr a d i n g S ch e m e.’ T h e
Government will also mandate a target of 80% renewableenerg y for Australia by 2050. Associated with theintroduction of the tax and renewable energy target, theGovernment also proposes to set up two new agencies.
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) willoversee A$3.2 billion (~US$3.4 billion) worth of existing
Government renewable energy programs. The Clean
Energy Finance Corporation will manage a A$10 billion(~US$10.7 billion) fund to stimulate renewable energy
developments through mechanisms such as investments,
loan guarantees or grants. While the news is undoubtedly
positive for the continued development of a geothermalenergy industry in Australia, the legislation has not yet
passed through Parliament and the Government has only anarrow grip on power. The Opposition does not support
the proposal.

w w w.geot herm al- energy.org

Geothermal gives NZ the Edgeon Data Centre Location?
Centrally placed between the USA and Asia, andviewed as a “politically safe and neutral” location,
New Zealand’s geothermal resources might just prove
attractive to several global companies like Google,
Facebook and Amazon keen to use renewable energy, as
cooling is one of the largest cost items in operation costs.
Geothermal power as a power source for data centers is
being discussed in Iceland too. Over the last coupleof years, Iceland has been working on attracting data
centers to the country.
Geothermal energy as asource of power for attracting energy intensive
industries and companies, such as data centers clearly
is interesting. Find out more here and here.

Ngatamariki gets Green Lightfor MRPIn June this year Mighty River Power Ltd. announced
commitment to the 82 MW plant costing $466 million to
be built at Ng atamariki, nor th of Taupo. Or mat
Technologies was announced as the winner of the EPC
contract. The completion of this power plant will bring thetotal installed capacity of Ormat’s technology in New
Zealand to approximately 350 MW in 14 plants. It will lift
total geothermal generation under MRP’s operation to
460xMW and mean that more than 40% of MRP’selectricity generation output (by ownership interest) isfrom geothermal sources.The new power plant will becomprised of four air-cooled Ormat Energy Converters
and will allow 100 % geothermal fluid reinjection, which
serves both to sustain the reservoir and to produce
electrical power with virtually no environmental impact.
The modular nature of the Ormat plant will allow further
similar units to be installed later. The construction of thepower plant is expected to be completed within 24 months
from the contract date. Initial site works have alreadystarted. Further details here.
Drilling is expected to commence shortly as a new rig
arrives from Iceland, along with up to 40 staff members.
MRP entered into a two-year US$25 million contract with
the Iceland Drilling Company (also known as Jardboranir)for the provision of a drilling rig. The type of drilling rig
that will be used is a significant step forward in drilling
technology and is the first of its type to be used in New

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I GA New s No. 85
A8D block (possibly up to 50 MW). The other company
involved in the deal is the Hawaiian-owned Innovations
Development Group (IDG), and this project has allowed
them to successfully create the world’s first Native to
Native trade deal. Native to Native Trade has been
established to help indigenous peoples who want todevelop their lands and resources, but need assistance to
see that realised. Such trade encourages ownership in
projects, shared profits and socially, environmentally andculturally appropriate practices. Further details here.
Eastland is developing the project as part of a strategy
aimed at using its balance sheet and engineering expertise
to develop a fleet of smaller-scale renewable generators. It
already owns the 5 MW Waihi hydro project inland from
Wairoa and last year bought the 9 MW Geothermal
Developments Ltd (KA 24) plant at Kawerau.
Trailer-mounted, higly automated DrillMec HH300.

Zealand. It is the company’s largest land rig and is a trailermounted highly automated DrillMec HH300.
The drilling programme consists of four monitoring
wells and four or five main wells. In addition to the
Ngatamariki wells, the rig will be available for exploration
drilling at new prospects and the drilling of replacement
wells on existing fields.8
The project is part of MRP’s pipeline of geothermal
projects, following the 100 MW Kawerau plant brought
into production in 2008 and the 140 MW Nga Awa Purua
station on-line last year, in a $1 billion plan to build up to
400MW of new geothermal production. This investment iscomplemented by a further US$250 million program ofinternational investment through GeoGlobal LLC. Specificprojects include the 50 MW Hudson Ranch project in
California, a geothermal exploration project in Tolhuaca inChile, and opportunities in Bavaria in Germany

Te Ahi O Maui - New
Geothermal Development
Option for Eastland Group
Eastland Group announced in June that it had signed an
exclusive deal to be part of a three-way venture of aground-breaking international indigenous people’s project.
The project name draws together Maori and Hawaiian
concepts of the “fire of Maui” and source of geothermal
heat.
It is part of the group’s energy development plans, andinvolves the exclusive development right for 170 hectaresin Kawerau on a Maori trust block belonging to theKawerau A8D Ahuwhenua Trust.
There is an existing commercially viable geothermal
well on the land known as KA22 well, and the initial
10xMW to 15 MW development costing up to $60 million
will be based around this. But Eastland Group chief
executive Matt Todd says an assessment of the entire area
has shown a significant additional resource underneath theJuly - September 2011

Tikitere Geothermal Plant
Announcement
A Rotorua Maori trust is set to become a major player inelectricity supply with plans to build a $140 million
geothermal power station near Tikitere.
The initial 45 MW development could employ up to 20
local people in the first six months during the initialinvestigation and development phase, with more job
opportunities in the future.
The Tiki Tere Trust (also known as the Whakapounakau 24 Trust) partnered with the neighbouring
Paehinahina Mourea Trust and the Manupirua Ahu
Whenua Baths Trust in 2008 to investigate the possibilityof developing a geothermal power station on their lands.
Jim Gray is a key figure in this development, and he will beknown to many people in the geothermal community
through his long term attendance at the Geothermal
Workshops and the NZGA Annual General Meetings. The
Trust has undertaken a six months long international
process seeking expressions of interest. At the end of thisprocess, Ormat Technologies was contracted to carry out
the exploration, construction and development of the
proposed geothermal development on a Build Operate
Transfer (BOT) basis. The plant would be transferred to
Tikitere Geothermal Power after 14 years of operation.
This is the first time that this sort of arrangement has beenused for geothermal projects in New Zealand.
In terms of timing, Jim has said that exploration drillingis at least 6 months away, consents still need to be obtained,
so that operation is unlikely before 2015.
The Tikitere field may have potential to generate up to
200 MW of electricity, but Jim has said the overall project
would be developed in stages to avoid effects on surface
geothermal features such as Hell’s Gate (the prime asset of
the Tiki Tere Trust) and Manupirua Springs. Further details
here.

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I GA New s No. 85

International
Global and regional geothermal
potentials
Luis C.A. Gutiérrez-Negrín
Mexican Geothermal Association
The last issue of IGA News (No. 84, April-June 2011, pp.
11-12) mentioned the publication of the Special Report on
Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation(SRREN), produced by Working Group III of the UN’s
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Chapter 4 of this SRREN is devoted to geothermal energy
and was prepared by an international team headed by
Barry Goldstein (Australia) and Gerardo Hiriart (Mexico).
The full reference of this chapter is:
Goldstein, B., G. Hiriart, R. Bertani, C. Bromley, L.
Gutiérrez-Negrín, E. Huenges, H. Muraoka, A. Ragnarsson,
J. Tester, V. Zui, 2011: Geothermal Energy. In IPCC Special
Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change
Mitigation [O. Edenhofer, R. Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sokona, K.
Seyboth, P. Matschoss, S. Kadner, T. Zwickel, P. Eickemeier, G.
Hansen, S. Schlömer, C. v. Stechow (eds)], Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York,NY, USA.
One of the main sections of chapter 4 concerns
geothermal potentials. As this is of interest to readers of
IGA News, an excerpt from subsection 4.2 (Resource
Potential) is reproduced below. In this excerpt, technicalpotential is defined in the SRREN’s glossary (mentioned infootnote 1) as: “the amount of RE (Renewable Energy)
output obtainable by full implementation of demonstrated
and likely to develop technologies or practices. No explicit
reference to costs, barriers or policies is made. In theliterature, analysts often adopt practical constraints; in that
context they implicitly take into account for instance sociogeographical and socio-political considerations.” Capacity
Factor is also defined in the glossary (see footnote 2) as:“the ratio of the actual output of a generating unit over a
period of time (typically a year) to the theoretical output
that would be produced if the unit were operating
uninterruptedly at its nameplate capacity during the same
period of time.”
4.2 Resource Potential
The total thermal energy contained in the Earth is of theorder of 12.6 x 1012 EJ and that of the crust of the orderof 5.4 x 109 EJ to depths of up to 50 km (Dickson andFanelli, 2003). The main sources of this energy are theheat flow from the Earth’s core and mantle, and thatgenerated by the continuous decay of radioactive isotopes
in the crust itself. Heat is transferred from the interior
towards the surface, mostly by conduction, at an averageof 65 mW/m2 on continents and 101 mW/m2 through thew w w.geot herm al- energy.org

9ocean floor. The result is a global terrestrial heat flow rateof around 1,400 EJ/yr. Continents cover ~30% of the
Earth’s surface and their terrestrial heat flow has been
estimated at 315 EJ/yr (Stefansson, 2005).
Stored ther mal energ y down to 3 km depth oncontinents was estimated to be 42.67 x 106 EJ by EPRI
(1978), consisting of 34.14 x 106 EJ (80%) from hot dry
rocks (or EGS resources) and 8.53 x 106 EJ (20%) fromhydrothermal resources. Within 10 km depth, Rowley(1982) estimated the continental stored heat to be
403xxx106 EJ, with no distinction between hot dry rockand hydrothermal resources, and Tester et al. (2005)
estimated it to be 110.4 x 106 EJ from hot dry rocks andonly 0.14 x 106 EJ from hydrothermal resources. A linear
interpolation between the EPRI (1978) values for 3 km
depth and the values from Rowley (1982) results in
139.5xxx10 6 EJ down to 5 km depth, while linear
interpolation between the EPRI (1978) values and thosefrom Tester et al. (2005) only for EGS resources results in
55.9 x 106 EJ down to 5 km depth (see second column ofTable 4.2). Based on these estimates, the theoreticalpotential is clearly not a limiting factor for global
geothermal deployment.
In practice geothermal plants can only utilize a portionof the stored thermal energy due to limitations in drilling
technology and rock permeability. Commercial utilization
to date has concentrated on areas in which geologicalconditions create convective hydrothermal reservoirs
where drilling to depths up to 4 km can access fluids attemperatures of 180°C to more than 350°C.
4.2.1 Global technical potential
Regarding geothermal technical potentials1, one recent
and comprehensive estimate for conventionalhydrothermal resources in the world was presented by
Stefansson (2005). For electric generation, he calculated
the global geothermal technical potential for identifiedhydrothermal resources as 200 GWe (equivalent to5.7xEJ/yr with a capacity factor (CF)2 of 90%), with alower limit of 50 GWe (1.4 EJ/yr). He assumed that
unidentified, hidden resources are 5 to 10 times moreabundant than the identified ones and then estimated theupper limit for the worldwide geothermal technicalpotential as between 1,000 and 2,000 GWe (28.4 and56.8xEJ/yr at 90% CF), with a mean value of 1,500 GWe(~42.6 EJ/yr). Mainly based on those numbers, Krewitt etal. (2009) estimated geothermal technical potential for2050 at 45 EJ/yr, largely considering only hydrothermal
resources.
No similar recent calculation of global technicalpotential for conductive (EGS) geothermal resources has
been published, although the study by EPRI (1978)
included some estimates, as did others (Armstead and1Definition of technical potential is included in the Glossary(Annex I).
2Capacity factor (CF) definition is included in the Glossary(Annex I).

July - September 201110

31 x 10 6 EJ stored heat equals approximately 2.61 EJ/yr oftechnical potential for electricity at a 90% CF for 30 years.

July - September 2011

been made (Hiriart et al., 2010). This is based on the
3,900xkm of ocean ridges confir med as havinghydrothermal vents4, with the assumption that only 1%
could be developed for electricity production using a
recovery factor of 4%. This assumption is based on
capturing part of the heat from the flowing submarine
vent without any drilling but, allowing for offshore drilling,a technical potential of 1,000 GWe (28.4 EJ/yr) fromhydrother mal vents may be possible. However, thetechnical potential of these resources is still highly
uncertain, and is therefore not included in Figure 4.2.
For geothermal direct uses, Stefansson (2005) estimated
4,400 GWth from hydrothermal systems as the worldgeothermal technical potential from resources <130°C,
with a minimum of 1,000 GWth and a maximum,
considering hidden resources, of 22,000 to 44,000 GWth.
Taking a worldwide average CF for direct uses of 30%, thegeothermal technical potential for heat can be estimated to
be 41.6 EJ/yr with a lower value of 9.5 EJ/yr and an
upper value of 312.2 EJ/yr (equivalent to 33,000 GWth of
installed capacity) (Figure 4.2). Krewitt et al. (2009) used
the same values estimated by Stefansson (2005) in GWth,but a CF of 100% was assumed when converted into EJ/r,
leading to an average upper limit of 33,000 GWth, or
1,040 EJ/yr.
In comparison, the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report(AR4) estimated an available energ y resource forgeothermal (including potential reserves) of 5,000 EJ/yr(Sims et al., 2007; see their Table 4.2). This amount cannot
be properly considered as technical potential and looks
overestimated compared with the geothermal technicalpotentials presented in Figure 4.2. It is important to note,Electric or Thermal (EJ/yr)

Tester, 1987). Estimating the technical potential of EGS iscomplicated due to the lack of commercial experience todate. EGS field demonstrations must achieve sufficient
reservoir productivity and lifetime to prove both theviability of stimulation methods and the scalability of thetechnology. Once these features have been demonstrated
at several locations, it will be possible to develop better
assessments of technical potential, and it is possible that
EGS will become a leading geother mal option forelectricity and direct use globally because of its widespread
availability and lower exploration risk relative tohydrothermal systems.
More recently, Tester et al. (2006; see their Table 1.1)
estimated the accessible conductive resources in the USA(excluding Alaska, Hawaii and Yellowstone National Park),
and calculated that the stored heat at depths less than
10xkm is 13.4 x 106 EJ (in conduction-dominated EGS of
crystalline basement and sedimentary rock formations).
Assuming that 2% of the heat is recoverable, that averagetemperatures would drop 10°C below initial conditions
during exploitation, and taking into account all losses in
the conversion of recoverable heat into electricity over alifespan of 30 years, electrical generating capacity fromE G S i n t h e U S A w a s e s t i m a t e d a t 1 , 2 4 9 G We ,corresponding to 35.4 EJ/yr of electricity at a CF of 90%(Tester et al., 2006; see their Table 3.3). Based on the same
assumptions as for the USA 3, estimates for the global
technical potential of EGS-based energy supply can bederived from estimates of the heat stored in the Earth’s
crust that is both accessible and recoverable (see Table 4.2,
fourth column).
Therefore, the global technical potential of geothermal
resources for electricity generation can be estimated as thesum of the upper (56.8 EJ/yr) and lower (28.4 EJ/yr) of
Stefansson’s estimate for hydrother mal resources(identified and hidden) and the EGS technical potentials
of Table 4.2 (fourth column), obtaining a lower value of
117.5 EJ/yr (down to 3 km depth) to a maximum of
1,108.6 EJ/yr down to 10 km depth (Figure 4.2). It is
important to note that the heat extracted to achieve thesetechnical potentials can be fully or partially replenishedover the long term by the continental terrestrial heat flowof 315 EJ/yr (Stefansson, 2005) at an average flux of
65xmW/m2. Although hydrothermal resources are only anegligible fraction of the total theoretical potential given in
Tester et al. (2005), their contribution to technical potential
might be considerably higher than implied by theconversion from theoretical potential data to technicalpotential data. This is the rationale for considering the
Rowley (1982) estimate for EGS technical potential only
and adding the estimate for hydrothermal technicalpotential from Stefansson (2005).
For hydrothermal submarine vents, an estimate of>100 GWe (>2.8 EJ/yr) offshore technical potential has

I GA New s No. 85

Electricity

Thermal

Direct use
Depth (km)Figure 4.2 Geothermal technical potentials for electricity and direct
uses (heat). Direct uses do not require development to depths greaterthan approximately 3 km (Prepared with data from Table 4.2 andStefansson, 2005).
4Some discharge thermal energy of up to 60 MWth (Lupton,1995) but there are other submarine vents, such as the one
known as ‘Rainbow’, with an estimated output of 1 to 5 GWth(German et al., 1996).

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I GA New s No. 85
Table 4.2 Global continental stored heat and EGS technical potentials for electricity.
Depth range(km)Technically accessible stored heat from EGS

Estimated technical potential(electric) for EGS (EJ/yr)

0–10(106 EJ)
403

SourceRowley, 1982

0–10

110.4

Tester et al., 2005

288.1

0–5

139.5

Interpolation between values from
Rowley (1982) and EPRI (1978)

364.2

0–5

55.9

Interpolation between values from
Tester et al. (2005) and EPRI (1978)

145.9

0–3

34.1

EPRI, 1978

89.1

1051.8

however, that technical potentials tend to increase as
technolog y progresses and overcomes some of thetechnical constraints of accessing theoretically available
resources.
4.2.2 Regional technical potential
The assessed geothermal technical potentials included inTable 4.2 and Figure 4.2 are presented on a regional basis
in Table 4.3. The regional breakdown in Table 4.3 is basedon the methodology applied by EPRI (1978) to estimate
theoretical geothermal potentials for each country, andthen countries were grouped into the IEA regions. Thus,
the present disag gregation of the global technicalpotentials is based on factors accounting for regionalvariations in the average geothermal gradient and thepresence of either a diffuse geothermal anomaly or a hightemperature region, associated with volcanism or plateboundaries as estimated by EPRI (1978). Applying thesefactors to the global technical potentials listed in Table 4.2
gives the values stated in Table 4.3. The separation into
electric and thermal (direct uses) technical potentials issomewhat arbitrary in that most higher-temperature
resources could be used for either or both in combined

heat and power applications depending on local market
conditions and the distance between geothermal facilities
and the consuming centres. Technical potentials for direct
uses include only identified and hidden hydrothermal
systems as estimated by Stefansson (2005), and arepresented independently from depth since direct uses ofgeothermal energy usually do not require developments
over 3 km in depth.
Cited references
Armstead, H.C.H., and J.W. Tester (1987). Heat Mining.
E&FN Spon Ltd, London, UK and New York, NY,
USA, 478 pp.
Dickson, M.H., and M. Fanelli (2003). Geothermal energy:
Utilization and technology. Renewable Energy Series,
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization, Paris, France, 205 pp.
EPRI (1978). Geothermal Energy Prospects for the Next
50 Years – ER-611-SR, Special Report for the World
Energy Conference. Electric Power Research Institute,
Palo Alto, CA, USA.
German, C.R., G.P. Klinkhammer, and M.D. Rudnicki

Table 4.3 Geothermal technical potentials on continents for the International Energy Agency (IEA) regions (prepared with data from EPRI
(1978) and global technical potentials described in section 4.2.1).
Technical potentials(EJ/yr) for direct
10 km
uses
Lower
Upper
Lower
Upper
69.3
241.9
2.1
68.1
42
146.5
1.3
41.3
16.3
56.8
0.5
16
45.3
158
1.4
44.5
52.8
184.4
1.6
51.9
10.1
35.2
0.3
9.9
62.1
216.9
1.8
61
19.7
68.9
0.6
19.4
317.5
1108.6
9.5
312.2

Electric technical potential in EJ/yr at depths to:
REGION*
OECD North America
Latin America
OECD Europe
AfricaTransition Economies
Middle East
Developing Asia
OECD Pacific
Total

3 km
Lower
Upper
25.6
31.8
15.5
19.3
6
7.5
16.8
20.8
19.5
24.3
3.7
4.6
22.9
28.5
7.3
9.1
117.5
145.9

5 km
Lower
Upper
38
91.9
23
55.7
8.9
21.6
24.8
60
29
70
5.5
13.4
34.2
82.4
10.8
26.2
174.3
421

Note: * For regional definitions and country groupings see Annex II.

w w w.geot herm al- energy.org

July - September 2011

12
(1996). The Rainbow Hydrothermal Plume, 36°15’N,
MAR. Geophysical Research Letters, 23(21), pp. 29792982.
Hiriart, G., R.M. Prol-Ledesma, S. Alcocer, and S.
Espíndola (2010). Submarine geother mics:
Hydrothermal vents and electricity generation. In:
Proceedings World Geothermal Congress 2010, Bali,
I n d o n e s i a , 2 5 - 2 9 A p r i l , 2 0 1 0 . Av a i l a b l e a t :http://www.geothermal-energy.org/pdf/IGAstandard/WGC/2010/3704.pdf.
Krewitt, W., K. Nienhaus, C. Kleßmann, C. Capone, E.
Stricker, W. Graus, M. Hoogwijk, N. Supersberger, U.
von Winterfeld, and S. Samadi (2009). Role andPotential of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency
for Global Energy Supply. Climate Change 18/2009,
Federal Environment Ag ency, Dessau-Roßlau,Germany, 336 pp.
Lupton, J. (1995). Hydrothermal plumes: Near and far
field. In: Seafloor Hydrothermal Systems: Physical,
Chemical, Biological, and Geological Interactions, S.
Humphris, R. Zierenberg, L. Mullineaux and R.
T homson (eds.), Geophysica l Monog ra ph 91,
American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC, USA,pp. 317-346.
Rowley, J.C. (1982). Worldwide geothermal resources. In:
Handbook of Geothermal Energy. Gulf Publishing,
Houston, TX, USA, pp. 44-176.
Sims, R.E.H., R.N. Schock, A. Adegbululgbe, J. Fenhann, I.
Konstantinaviciute, W. Moomaw, H.B. Nimir, B.
Schlamadinger, J. Torres-Martínez, C. Turner, Y.
Uchiyama, S.J.V. Vuori, N. Wamukonya, and X. Zhang(2007). Energy supply. In: Climate Change 2007:
Mitigation.of Climate Change. Contribution ofWorking Group III to the Fourth Assessment Reportof the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, B.
Metz, O.R. Davidson, P.R. Bosch, R. Dave and L.A.
Meyer (eds.), Cambridge University Press, pp. 251-322.
Stefansson, V. (2005). World geothermal assessment. In:
Proceedings World Geother mal Congress 2005,
Antalya, Turkey, 24-29 April 2005. Available at:www.geothermal-energy.org/pdf/IGAstandard/WGC/2005/0001.pdf.
Tester, J.W., E.M. Drake, M.W. Golay, M.J. Driscoll, andW.A. Peters (2005). Sustainable Energy – Choosing
Among Options. MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts,
USA, 850 pp.
Tester, J.W., B.J. Anderson, A.S. Batchelor, D.D. Blackwell,
R. DiPippo, E.M. Drake, J.D. Garnish, B. Livesay, M.C.
Moore, K. Nichols, S. Petty, M.N, Toksöks, and R.W.
Veatch Jr. (2006). The Future of Geothermal Energy:
Impact of Enhanced Geothermal Systems on the
United States in the 21st Century. Prepared by the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, under Idaho
National Laboratory Subcontract No. 63 00019 for the
U.S. Department of Energy, Assistant Secretary for

July - September 2011

I GA New s No. 85
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Office ofGeothermal Technologies, Washington, DC,
USA, 358 pp. Available at: http://www.geothermal.inel.
gov/publications/future_of_geothermal_energy.pdf.

Geothermal in International
Energy Strategy Papers
Marietta Sander, IGA Executive Director
In early summer 2011 three energ y strategies werelaunched by leading international energy organisations. In
the following I would like to inform you about their maincontents and implications for the geothermal sector:
1. Technology Roadmap - Geothermal Heat and Power,
International Energy Agency (IEA)
2. Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources andClimate Change Mitigation (SRREN),
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
3. Renewables 2011 Global Status Report, REN21
1.) Technology Roadmap – Geothermal Heat andPower, International Energy Agency (IEA)
The “Technology Roadmap - Geothermal Heat andPower” was recently launched by the IEA on the occasionof the EURELECTRIC annual conference in June 2011 in
Stockholm. T he IEA was founded in 1974 as anautonomous organisation, in order to safeguard energy
security in its 24 member states and additional countries.
The IEA aims to promote sustainable energy strategies,
transparency and international cooperation in order to
identify solutions for global energy challenges.
With the series Technology Roadmaps the IEA formulated
a targeted guideline for governments, industry andresearch institutes in order to propose specific measuresand milestones which are necessary to increase the use ofrenewable energies (RE). A clear target for geothermalenergy use globally is to increase the percentage of
geothermal in the mix of global power generation from
0.3% currently to 3.5% by 2050. Similarly, the use ofgeothermal heat should be increased from the current levelof 0.3% to 3.9% by 2050. Geothermal heat pumps areomitted from the study.
The study emphasises the necessary measures to take
geothermal a step forward:
1. Further development of geothermal sites of highenthalpy reservoirs with increasing subsequent use ofgeothermal heat through binary power plants (ORC,
Kalina).
2. Increasing efforts in Research and Development(R&D) and demonstration projects of submarine
resources, supercritical resources, mine waters, drilling
technology and Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS).
An increase of the EGS projects from the current 20(also in planning stage) to 50 by 2050 is necessary.
Accordingly, EGS systems should be deployedw w w.geot herm al- energy.org

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I GA New s No. 85
sustainably, widely and in a cost-efficient manner by
2030.
3. Establishing clear geothermal and investor-friendly
framework conditions (concessions, feed-in-tariffs,
Power Purchase Agreements, tax holidays, nationalenergy masterplans).
According to the study necessary prerequisites for theabove proposed action items are financial incentives likerisk mitigations funds or insurances, strategic advice todecision-makers, databases and technical guidelines.
The Technology Roadmap provides clear, but rather
general advice for the measures to be taken. It becomes
clear that significant R&D funds are available inindustrialised countries. Hopefully, this will lead to a closer
cooperation of industrialised countries with developing
countries. The Technology Roadmap also incorporates
information on the different geothermal resources,
technologies, power plant technology and economics, andpresents case studies from Indonesia. In addition, countryspecific risk mitigation schemes are presented and advice
given to the involved stakeholders. Hints on how to obtainthe necessary financial resources for developments are notyet included in the roadmap.
Document download at: http://www.iea.org /papers/2011/Geothermal_Roadmap.pdf
2.) Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources andClimate Change Mitigation (SRREN),
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
was established by the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) and the World MeteorologicalOrganisation (WMO) in 1988 to provide the world with aclear scientific view on the current state of knowledge inclimate change and its potential environmental and socio-

economic impacts.
Since April 2008 a group of 120 leading experts
compiled the SRREN with the aim of presenting the roleof renewable energies for climate change mitigation. The
report provides clear guidelines on how 80% of energy
supply could be provided through RE resources by 2050.
Besides a summary for policymakers and chapters withintegrated topics the six RE technologies bioenergy,
geothermal, solar energy, ocean energy, hydropower andwind energy are presented in detail.
The SRREN shows that investor-friendly political andlegal framework conditions like national energy strategies
and clear licensing procedures would play a vital role inachieving the 80% RE target by 2050.
It is inspiring to see that 50% of the global RE
resources would be deployed in developing countries.
Similar to the IEA Roadmap the target group of the
SRREN are decision-makers in governments, industry, thefinancial sector and academia.
For geothermal the authors estimate an increase to140-160 GWel by 2050 from the current level of 11 GWe.
The installed direct use capacity is estimated to reach
800xGWth. The geothermal chapter provides a good
overview of the global and regional resource potential,
GHG emissions in the whole project cycle (Life Cycle
Analysis), emission during operation, economics(Figurex1) and required research and optimisation
approaches.
Document download at: http://srren.ipcc-wg3.de/3.) Renewables 2011 Global Status Report, REN21
The REN21 was founded subsequent to the International
Conference for Renewable Energies – Renewables 2004
which took place in Bonn, Germany. REN21 promotes
RE to meet the needs of both industrialised anddeveloping countries that are driven by climate change,

Fig. 1: Range in levelised cost of energy (IPCC SRREN 2011)w w w.geot herm al- energy.org

July - September 2011

14
energy security, development and poverty alleviation.
Herein three action areas are promoted: Policy, Advocacy,
and Exchange.
The Global Status Report 2011 focuses on regulatory
and investor-friendly framework conditions and provides
infor mation on market trends and investment
developments. Up to now RE enabling policies havealready been established in 119 countries.
Regarding geother mal the latest data on global
applications are provided, the largest equipment suppliers
mentioned and the Renewable Heat Incentive of theUnited Kingdom is presented. This incentive provides
subsidies to house owners for the installation of heating
and cooling systems in buildings.
Document download at: http://www.ren21.net/Portals/97/documents/GSR/REN21_GSR2011.pdf
Conclusion:
All three recently published strategy documents reflectthat groundbreaking steps are necessary in order toincrease the use of geothermal resources. Significant tasks
are required in the following fields:
1. Creation of RE-friendly regulatory legal andinstitutional framework conditions (policy) andinvestor-friendly incentive schemes.
2. R&D and technology optimization for EGS, drilling
projects, exploratory methods, supercritical andsubmarine reservoirs, binary power plant technology.
3. Advocacy and policy dialogue on geothermal.
The proposed action items of the examined energy
strategies correspond with the insight I gained whileworking on an international technical assistance project incountries adjacent to the East African Rift System over the
past 3 years.
During the last geothermal workshop in East Africa in
December 2010 (see Figure 3) the following action items
were identified:(1) Financing; (2) Optimisation of national regulatory
framework conditions; (3) Advisory to policy makers; and(4) Capacity building.
The German government supports the geothermal
sector in East Africa through the Geothermal Facility for
Eastern Africa which was developed by the KfW (German
Development Bank).

Fig. 3: Participants of the Geothermal Policy Workshop, Rwanda,
Dec. 2010

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I GA New s No. 85

IGA News
IGA News is published quarterly by the International
Geothermal Association. The function of IGA News is todisseminate timely information about geothermal activitiest h r o u g h o u t t h e wo r l d . To t h i s e n d , a g r o u p o fcorrespondents has agreed to supply news for each issue.
The core of this group consists of the IGA Information
Committee:
Eduardo Iglesias, Mexico (Chairman)
Nilgun Bakir, Turkey
Graeme Beardsmore, Australia
Paul Brophy, USA
Cully Cavness, USA
Surya Darma, Indonesia
Philippe Dumas, France
John Garnish, United Kingdom
Alimin Ginting, Indonesia
Gestur Gíslason, Iceland
Luis C. A. Gutiérrez-Negrín, Mexico
Colin Harvey, New ZealandPaul Hirtz, USA
Roland N. Horne, USA
Zbigniew Malolepszy, Poland
Francisco Montalvo, El Salvador
Jim Lawless, New ZealandÁrni Ragnarsson, Iceland
Sylvia Ramos, Philippines
Horst Rüter, Germany
Benedikt Steingrímsson, Iceland
Koichi Tagomori, Japan
Richard B. Tantoco
Kasumi Yasukawa, Japan
Keyan Zeng, China
The members of this group submit geothermal news fromtheir parts of the world, or relevant to their areas of
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July - September 2011