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World Geothermal Power Generation 2001 - 2005
World Geothermal Power Generation 2001 - 2005
World Geothermal Power Generation 2001 - 2005
Editor's Note: The following article is published 8,030 MWe running capacity and electric Introduction
in the GRC Bulletin by special permission energy production of nearly 57,000 giga- This paper discusses the latest develop-
of Geothermics, the International Journal of
Geothermal Research and its Applications (Elsevier), watt-hours (GWh) (early 2005 data); ments in geothermal electricity generation
Vol. 34, No. 6, December 2005, pp. 651-690. This • Costa Rica, France (Guadeloupe), Ice- worldwide. It focuses on changes with
rendition of the article underwent minor editing to land, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, respect to previous similar reports (Hut-
GRC Bulletin style. Nicaragua, Russia, and the United States trer 1995, 2000, 2001). For each country
A
have increased the capacity of their geo- producing electricity from geothermal re-
review has been made of all the
thermal power plant installations by more sources, information from relevant Coun-
country update papers submitted
than 10 percent with respect to the year try Update Reports presented at the World
to the World Geothermal Congress
2000; Geothermal Congress 2005 (WGC2005,
2005 (WGC2005) from countries in which
• New members of the geothermal electric- convened on April 24-29, 2005 in Antalya,
geothermal electricity is currently being
ity generating community include Aus- Turkey) has been integrated with first-hand
generated. The most significant data to
tria, Germany and Papua New Guinea; data provided by members of the Interna-
emerge from these papers, and from follow-
• Installed capacity in Argentina and tional Geothermal Association (IGA). De-
up contacts with representatives of these
Greece is now null since their geother- tailed information is not provided here, but
countries, are:
mal power plants have been dismantled; can be readily obtained from papers listed
• A total of 24 countries now generate
and under References.
electricity from geothermal resources;
• 19 countries have carried out significant The primary objective of this paper
• Total installed capacity worldwide is
geothermal drilling operations since is to identify geothermal fields currently
approximately 8,930 megawatts-elec-
2000, with 307 new wells. under exploitation to generate electricity,
tric (MWe), corresponding to about
their characteristics (e.g. reservoir depth,
and fluid temperatures and pressures),
and the status of operating geothermal
Figure 1. Installed geothermal capacity and electricity generation 1995-2005. power plants. Limited emphasis is given
to data on geothermal field potential. A
summary of data is provided in Table 1,
including geothermal capacities in early
2005; annual energy production; number
of geothermal units installed; percentage of
national power capacity that is contributed
by geothermal; and the percentage of en-
ergy produced nationally from geothermal
resources. Changes in installed geothermal
power generating capacity worldwide over
the last 10 years are presented in Table 2.
Before proceeding further, two terms
frequently used in this paper should be de-
fined. Installed capacity (in MWe) is the
reference value for power plants, set by
the manufacturer as its target output when
the facility is operating under design con-
ditions. Possible reserve units should not
be considered as part of installed capac- Wright, IGA President at that time: “At the reached 49,000 GWh per year. Energy
ity, but may be accounted for separately. 1975 United Nations Conference on Geo- production is a much better measure of our
Running capacity (in MWe) is the highest thermal Energy, held in San Francisco, Cali- contribution than installed capacity, because
average value over a one-hour period of fornia, Dr. Patrick Muffler (USGS, retired) geothermal power plants usually operate at
output from a power plant, measured at reported that some 1300 MW of geothermal a higher capacity factor than other types of
the generator transformer supply volt- electrical power generation capacity were power plants. But how are we to understand
age terminals, while operating at stated installed in 10 countries. At this meeting, this figure of 49,000 GWh/y of energy pro-
design conditions or corrected to design WGC2000, Mr. Gerry Huttrer (Geothermal duction? To help form a perspective, let us
point conditions (Spielberg-Planer et al., Mgmt. Co., Inc. – Frisco, CO) reported that note that the International Energy Agency
2001). Running capacity can be correlated installed geothermal generation capacity has reports that total electricity consumed
directly with energy produced and with reached 7,974 MW in 21 countries. In 25 worldwide in 1996 was 13,700,000 GWh.
relevant reservoir characteristics (Table years, we have added 6,700 MW of installed In other words, geothermal energy accounts
3). The main characteristics of geothermal capacity around the world. This amounts to for less than 0.4 percent of the world’s total
fields worldwide are presented in Table 3. an average of only 270 MW of new geother- electricity consumption.”
The table includes only fields providing at mal generating capacity per year since Dr. The trend has not improved since 2000.
least a few MW running capacity and fields Muffler’s report in 1975, and an average of Installed geothermal capacity has increased
for which at least some relevant data were only 240 MW of new geothermal genera- by approximately 960 MWe (Fig. 1 and
available. tion capacity per year since WGC1995 in Table 2), or only about 190 MWe per year
It is worth recalling the final part of Florence, Italy. Mr. Huttrer also reported added during the 2000-2005 period. World-
the message delivered during the World that the worldwide electrical energy pro- wide, the contribution of geothermal to total
Geothermal Congress 2000 by Dr. Phillip duction from geothermal power plants has electricity generated is less than half of one
90 GRC BULLETIN
International Geothermal Development
percent. World net electricity generation Table 2. Variation in installed geothermal generating capacity worldwide between 1995 and
for 2003 was 15.8 million GWh/y (U.S. early 2005.
Department of Energy, www.eia.doe.gov/ Country 1995 2000 Early 2005 2000-2005 Percent
pub/international/iealf/table63.xls), while (MWe) (MWe) (MWe) Increase (MWe) Increase
geothermal generation was only 0.057
Australia 0.2 0.2 0.2 0 unchanged
million GWh per year.
Austria 0 0 1.2 1.2 new plant
Figure 2 is a world map showing coun-
China 29 29 28 -1 unchanged
tries that generate electricity using geother-
Costa Rica 55 143 163 20 14%
mal resources, and their installed capacity
El Salvador 105 161 151 -10 -6%
in early 2005. Changes in installed capacity
Ethiopia 0 7.3 7.3 0 unchanged
during the last 30 years, as well as changes
France 4.2 4.2 15 10.8 250%
in electricity generation between 1995 and
Germany 0 0 0.2 0.2 new plant
2005, are reported in Table 4.
Guatemala 0 33 33 0 unchanged
Recent increases in oil prices and pre-
Iceland 50 170 202 32 19%
dicted decline in oil reserves during the
Indonesia 310 589 797 208 35%
coming years could lead to a boost in the
Italy 632 785 791 6 1%
amount of geothermal electricity produced.
Japan 414 547 535 -12 -2%
However, this will be affordable only with
Kenya 45 45 129 84 186%
appropriate government policies and regu-
Mexico 753 755 953 198 26%
lations, and with some sort of incentives
New Zealand 286 437 435 -2 unchanged
to attract investors. The acceptance of the
Nicaragua 70 70 77 7 11%
Kyoto Climate Change Protocol by many
Papua New Guinea 0 0 6 6 new plant
countries might also help the geothermal
Philippines 1,227 1,909 1,930 21 1%
electricity market achieve a one-percent
Portugal 5 16 16 0 unchanged
share in world electricity production by
Russia 11 23 79 56 243%
2010. This is still a long way from fulfilling
Thailand 0.3 0.3 0.3 0 unchanged
the world’s renewable energy target, but for
Turkey 20 20 20 0 unchanged
the next five years it is a reasonable objec-
United States 2,817 2,228 2,564 336 15%
tive with geothermal technologies currently
available. Total 6,833 7,972 8,933 961 13%
Country Field Drilled Area Type of Reservoir Reservoir Production Reinjection Capacity
(km2) Reservoir Depth (m) Temperature (°C) Wells Wells (MWe)
China Yangbajain 4 Liquid 200 140-160 12 6 15
Costa Rica Miravalles 30-35 Liquid 1000-2000 240 32 20 163
El Salvador Ahuachapán 3-4 Liquid /Steam 600-1500 230-240 19 5 63
El Salvador Berlín 2-3 Liquid 2000-2500 300 9 15 56
France Guadeloupe 4 Liquid 300-1100 250 6 n/a 15
Guatemala Amatitlán 6-9 Liquid /Steam 1000-2000 300 4 n/a 5
Guatemala Zunil I 4 Liquid 1500-2300 300 6 2 24
Guatemala Zunil II 8-10 Liquid /Steam 800-1200 240 2 n/a 5
Iceland Krafla 5-6 Liquid 300-1200 190-210 20 2 60
1000-2000 240-340
Iceland Nesjavellir 6-8 Liquid 1000-2000 270-320 15 n/a 90
Iceland Svartsengi 6-8 Liquid /Steam 1000-2000 240 10 1 46
Indonesia Darajat 10 Steam 2000 245 17 n/a 135
Indonesia Dieng 12 Liquid 1000-2000 280-330 25 n/a 60
Indonesia Kamojang 15-20 Steam 1400-1600 245 29 n/a 140
Indonesia Lahendong 4 Liquid 1000-2000 260-330 15 n/a 20
Indonesia Salak 20-25 Liquid 1000-2000 240-310 30 15 371
Indonesia Wayang Windu 30 Liquid 1000-2000 250-270 18 n/a 110
Italy Bagnore 5 Liquid 1000-3000 200-330 7 4 19
Italy Larderello 250 Steam 1000-4000 150-270 180 23 473
350
Italy Piancastagnaio 25 Liquid 1000-3000 200-300 19 11 60
Italy Travale 50 Steam 1000-4000 190-250 22 0 147
Radicondoli 350
Japan Kakkonda 6 Liquid/Steam 500 1000 230-260 29 29 80
2500-3000 350-360
Japan Matsukawa 4 Steam 1000-1500 260 10 1 24
Japan Mori 6 Liquid 500-1500 230-250 10 9 50
2000-2500
Japan Ogiri 8 Liquid 1000-2000 260 11 6 30
Japan Onikobe 8 Liquid 500 1000 250 7 7 12
Japan Otake 8-10 Liquid 1000-2500 240-300 20 13 122
Hatchobaru
Japan Sumikawa 5 Liquid 1500-2500 250 8 12 50
Japan Takigami 5 Liquid 2000 160-260 5 9 25
Japan Uenotai 9-10 Liquid 1000-2000 300-320 9 3 29
Japan Yanauzu 10 Liquid 1000-2600 270-320 19 2 65
Nishiyama
Kenya Olkaria E 5 Liquid 500-2000 250-300 26 0 45
Kenya Olkaria NE 9 Liquid 1800-2700 250-300 9 n/a 12
Kenya Olkaria W 12 Liquid 1000-2000 250-300 1 n/a 70
Mexico Cerro Prieto 150-200 Liquid 2800 300-340 149 9 720
Mexico Las Tres Vírgenes 30 Liquid 2100 280 4 2 10
Mexico Los Azufres 35 Liquid/Steam 1600 150-200 29 6 188
2000-3000 280-300
Mexico Los Humeros 20 Liquid 1000-2000 290-320 17 2 35
New Zealand Kawerau 2 Liquid 1000-2000 240-300 6 2 14
New Zealand Mokai 12 Liquid 2000 270-320 4 3 51
New Zealand Ngawha 25 Liquid 600-2800 220-240 2 2 9
New Zealand Ohaaki 5-8 Liquid 1500-2500 230-280 24 n/a 96
New Zealand Rotokawa 25 Liquid 2000-2500 270-330 2 3 29
92 GRC BULLETIN
International Geothermal Development
Country Field Drilled Area Type of Reservoir Reservoir Production Reinjection Capacity
(km2) Reservoir Depth (m) Temperature (°C) Wells Wells (MWe)
New Zealand Wairakei 15 Liquid/Steam 1000-2000 160-260 60 n/a 204
Nicaragua Momotombo 4 Liquid 300-800 180-200 12 4 38
800-1700 200-240
Papua 1700-3000 240-300
New Guinea Lihir 3-5 Liquid/Steam 300-1000 250-300 3 n/a 6
Philippines Bac-Man 25-30 Liquid 1000-2000 260-280 24 12 150
Philippines Mak-Ban 14 Liquid 900 345 72 21 402
3400
Philippines Mt. Apo 8 Liquid 500 240-280 16 4 108
1500
Philippines Palinpinon 15-20 Liquid 2000-3000 280-320 43 26 192
Philippines Tiwi 13 Liquid 900 320 43 16 263
2800
Philippines Tongonan 120-150 Liquid 1000-2000 260-300 75 26 723
2000-3000 300-320
Russia Mutnovsky 12-15 Liquid/Steam 700-2500 240-300 17 4 62
Russia Pahuzhetka 1-2 Steam 300-800 180-210 7 n/a 11
Turkey Kizildere 4 Liquid 500-1000 240 15 2 17
USA-CA Casa Diablo 12 Liquid 200 160 8 5 27
USA-CA Coso 20 Liquid 500-3500 200-330 90 20 230
USA-CA East Mesa 24 Liquid 1500-2500 150-190 35 44 98
USA-CA Heber 5 Liquid 1200-1800 160-180 21 23 65
USA-CA Salton Sea 16 Liquid 1000- 2500 290-310 31 26 336
USA-CA The Geysers 100 Steam 600-3000 300 424 43 888
USA-HI Puna 1-2 Liquid 2000 200-300 3 4 27
USA-NV Brady 10 Liquid 300-700 180 6 9 21
USA-NV Beowawe 3 Liquid 1000-2500 215 3 1 16
USA-NV Dixie Valley 5 Liquid 1800-2500 230 7 10 68
USA-NV Soda Lake 8 Liquid 500-1500 180 5 5 17
USA-NV Steamboat 5 Liquid 200-800 160 11 5 66
USA-NV Stillwater 16 Liquid 1000-1500 160 4 3 13
USA-UT Roosevelt 3 Liquid 500-2000 240-270 4 3 20
n/a: data not available; this table includes only fields providing at least a few MW running capacity and for which some relevant data were available.
Geothermal Power Generation istic to expect an increase of at least 1,300 Portugal); Kamchatka-Mutnovsky, Kuril
Activities During 2001-2005 MWe in installed capacity worldwide Islands (Russia); Glass Mountain, Salton
This section highlights new geothermal before 2010. These projects (or areas) are: Sea (California), Steamboat, Desert Peak
projects worldwide that were initiated and Deep Yangbajain field (China); Miravalles, (Nevada), and Cove Fort-Sulphurdale
completed between 2000 and 2005. Power Rincón de la Vieja, Las Pailas, Borinquen (Utah).
plants that started up after the year 2000, (Costa Rica); San Vincente, Chinameca, Considering these short-term prospects
but related to activities that began earlier, Obrajuelo, Cuyanausul (El Salvador); (at least 1,300 MWe more) and power plants
have not been included. New installed ca- Langano (Ethiopia); Bouillante III (France, already under construction or likely to be
pacities are reported in Table 5. Facilities Guadeloupe); Amatitlán, Zunil (Guate- installed (additional 551 MWe), the forecast
currently under construction, for a total of mala); Hellisheidi, Reykjanes (Iceland); for world installed capacity by 2010 is ap-
551 MWe, are listed in Table 6. Darajat, Lahendong, Kamojang (Indone- proximately 10,800 MWe (Fig. 3).
It is also possible to estimate short- sia); Larderello, Travale, Bagnore (Italy);
term prospects for additional installed Olkaria (Kenya); Los Humeros, La Prima- Country Reports on
capacity, as there are some geothermal vera (Mexico); Wairakei (New Zealand); Geothermal Power Generation
projects needing only financing and final San Jacinto-Tizate (Nicaragua); Northern The situation in each country currently
approval for plant construction. It is real- Negros (Philippines); Terceira (Azores, producing electric energy from geothermal
Table 4. Variation in geothermal installed capacity over the last 30 years, and in geothermal resources, along with relevant data, is de-
electricity generation over the last 10 years. scribed in the following pages. Tables and
figures are provided only for countries, but
Year Installed Capacity (MWe) Electricity Generation (GWh/y)
in the case of the United States, information
1975 1,300 n/a is provided for states with more than 200
1980 3,887 n/a MWe installed capacity.
1985 4,764 n/a
1990 5,832 n/a Australia. At the moment, only one unit
1995 6,832 38,035 is generating electric power from geo-
2000 7,972 49,261 thermal resources, the 150-kilowatt (kW)
binary cycle plant at Birdsville, southwest
2005 8,933 56,786
Queensland (Chopra, 2005). Electricity
demand for the small town of Birdsville
follows a familiar seasonal pattern, with
Figure 3. Predicted increase in installed geothermal power generation capacity worldwide highest demand in the hot summer months
to 2010.
when air-conditioning is used extensively
(250 kW) and relatively low demand in
winter (120 kW). The geothermal power
plant, with a nominal power rating of
150 kWe, supplies the baseload, using
98°C fluid from a 1,200 m well. The power
plant, installed in 1992, was upgraded and
refurbished in 1999, and is currently in
operation. Australia has also conducted
research on Hot Dry Rock (HDR) technol-
ogy. The most advanced project is in the
Cooper Basin region of northeastern South
Australia, where two wells have already
been completed, for a total drilled depth of
6 km. A third is scheduled to reach 4 km.
So far, downhole measured temperatures
are 248°C, but stabilized conditions have
not yet been reached. The government's
Mandatory Renewable Electricity Target
Table 5. Geothermal power plants that came on line during the 2000-2005 period. (MRET) Scheme introduced in 2001 re-
quires that by 2010 approximately 2 percent
Country New Project Completed in 2000-2005 MWe of Australia’s annual electricity needs be
Costa Rica Miravalles V 18 supplied by renewable energy resources.
France Guadeloupe-La Bouillante II 10 Geothermal energy, and in particular, HDR
Iceland Nesjavellir 30 technology, are expected to contribute to
Indonesia Sulawesi-Lahendong 20
these goals.
Italy Larderello, Travale, Bagnore 250
Austria. Geothermal research is fairly
Kenya Olkaria II & III and Oserian 86
active in Austria, but focused mainly
Mexico Los Azufres and Las Tres Vírgenes 110 on tapping low-temperature geothermal
Nicaragua Momotombo 7 waters for use in balneology. Two small
Papua-New Guinea Lihir 6 binary power plants have been installed,
Philippines Leyte-Tongonan 22 at Altheim (in the northwest) and Blumau
Russia Kamchatka - Mutnovsky 50 (in the southeast) (Goldbrunner, 2005).
United States Salton Sea V 60 Altheim is an excellent example of a
successful geothermal exploration and
Total 669
exploitation project by a small community
(5,000 inhabitants). A production/injection
Editor's note: For the United States, the table does not include new geothermal projects brought online
during 2005 at Heber (10 MW) in Imperial Valley, CA, and the Steamboat Geothermal Complex (20 doublet with bottomhole at 2,500 m pro-
MW) at Reno, NV. Personal communication, Dan Schochet, ORMAT 6/9/06. duces fluid at a wellhead temperature of
94 GRC BULLETIN
International Geothermal Development
separated brine on the injection streamline. electricity produced annually. With such requirements, with production in 2003 of
At present, geothermal installed capacity important geothermal (and hydropower) 967 GWh. There are two major geothermal
represents 8.4 percent of the country’s total, resources available, it is possible to oper- fields, Ahuachapán and Berlín (Fig. 4). The
and 15.1 percent of electricity produced. ate the oil-burning plants as reserve units. Ahuachapán field has been exploited since
To date, 131 geothermal wells have been In the northern part of the country near the 1975, with three condensing units (two 30-
drilled in Costa Rica, to a total depth of Nicaraguan border, a second geothermal MWe single-flash, and one 35-MWe dou-
124 km. There are plans to extend the Mi- area near the Rincón de la Vieja volcano ble-flash). Because of reservoir decline,
ravalles field further eastward. Recently, will be exploited in the near future. On the only two of the three units are currently in
well PGM-55, drilled to 1.5 km, identified southern slope of the volcano, in the Las operation. A project for reaching the units’
a new high-permeability productive zone, Pailas field, five exploration wells were full capacity (Ahuachapán optimization) is
hydraulically connected with the reservoir drilled in 2001-2002. A proven resource underway. The 230-240°C reservoir is at
presently under exploitation. The potential associated with the 250°C reservoir is es- shallow depth (600-1,500 m). There are 19
of this well is estimated at 4 MWe. Since timated at 18 MWe, with possible expan- production and five reinjection wells over a
it is located near a protected natural area sion to 35 MWe. On the northwestern slope 3-4 km2 area. In 2004, total injection of all
(virgin rain forest), directional drilling will of the Rincón de la Vieja volcano, in the produced fluid was achieved at Chipilapa,
be required for environmental reasons. This Borinquen field, the first of four planned 6 km from the Ahuachapán area. A former
will be the first time in Costa Rica that mul- exploratory wells is being drilled. Prelimi- policy of sending cooled geothermal flu-
tiple wells are drilled from the same pad. nary results have confirmed the presence of ids to the ocean through a canal has been
Geothermal energy is the second most im- an important thermal anomaly. abandoned. The possibility of utilizing
portant contributor to electricity generation residual heat through a 3.5-MWe binary
in Costa Rica. It is of strategic economic El Salvador. Electricity has been gen- power plant is being investigated, with
importance, because of the country’s strong erated from geothermal resources in El plans to begin operations in 2006. The
dependence on imported oil for its thermal Salvador since 1975 (Rodriguez and Berlín geothermal field was explored
power plants. Although these facilities Herrera, 2005). In the competitive energy in the 1970s, but because of civil unrest
represent 17 percent of total installed ca- market adopted in this country, geothermal commercial operation did not begin until
pacity, they contribute only 2 percent of electricity supplies 22 percent of national 1992, when two 5-MWe wellhead units
came online. They were decommissioned
in 1999, and two 28-MWe single-flash
Figure 5. First regional electricity grid: the SIEPAC (Sistema Eléctrico para América Central) units were installed. The 300°C reservoir
line (from Lippmann, 2003).
is at approximately 2,000-2,500 m depth.
There are nine production and 15 reinjec-
tion wells in the field. An extensive upgrad-
ing, aimed at installation of an additional
40-MWe, is currently scheduled. The first
four wells for this project have already
been drilled near the southern border of
the reservoir. The presently exploited area
is quite small, only 2-3 km2. An additional
6.5-MWe binary unit is under evaluation.
Projects are ongoing in other geothermal
areas of the country. In Cuyanausul, near
the Chipilapa injection field, an explorato-
ry well is being drilled. Should estimates
of field potential be confirmed, one or
two 5-MWe back-pressure units might be
installed. Further concessions have been
released for exploration in San Vincente,
Chinameca and Obrajuelo. The overall
potential of these fields could be around
100 MWe. In 2002, the Salvadoran and
Honduran electricity grids were intercon-
nected via a 230-kilovolt (kV) transmission
line. This is the final link of the Central
America grid. Now power can be traded
from Panama to Guatemala within the
96 GRC BULLETIN
International Geothermal Development
Regional Electricity Market (MER) (de la geothermal project, based on a three-well Groß Schönebeck, Bad Urach, Offenbach,
Torre, 2002; Lippmann, 2003). The new system in granite at a depth of 5,000 m, is Speyer, Bruchsal and Unterhaching.
regional SIEPAC (Sistema Eléctrico para expected to go online during 2006.
América Central) transmission line with Guatemala. Geothermal exploration began
a transfer capacity of 300 MW (Fig. 5) is Germany. The first geothermal power in Guatemala in 1972, but commercial ex-
expected to be online during the first half plant in Germany, at Neustadt-Glewe, has ploitation started in 1998 at Zunil. This
of 2008. been online since 2003 (Schellschmidt et area has two geothermal fields located
al., 2005). It has an installed capacity of close together, Zunil I and II. Despite
Ethiopia. Aluto-Langano is the only geo- about 230 kWe using an ORC. In addi- their proximity, they have separate reser-
thermal area currently exploited for elec- tion, 10.7 MWt are used for district and voirs with different heat and fluid sources.
tricity production in Ethiopia. It is located space heating. Energy production of 1.5 Zunil I, located on the border of the Quet-
on the floor of the Ethiopian Rift Valley, GWh/y will provide 500 households with zaltenango caldera west of Guatemala
about 200 km southeast of Addis Ababa. electric power. The plant uses a flow rate City, has temperatures of 300°C at 1,500-
Eight deep wells (maximum depth of about of 100 m³/h at a temperature of 98°C; at 2,300 m depth. There are seven binary units
2,500 m) have been drilled in the field, the end of the cycle the water is cooled with a total installed capacity of 28 MWe
four of them productive (Teklemariam to 72°C. Currently, six new installations (24 MWe running capacity). A research
and Beyene, 2005). Maximum reservoir for power generation are being planned at and development project for Zunil I was
temperature is about 350ºC. The potential
of the field has been evaluated at up to
30 MWe for 30 years. A 7.3-MWe binary Figure 6. Location of geothermal fields in Iceland (from Ragnarsson, 2005)
geothermal plant was installed in 1999. It
is not fully functional because operational
experience is lacking. The government's
five-year plan includes rehabilitation of
the power plant, and possible installation
of an additional 20-MWe unit if financial
support becomes available. In the Ten-
daho field, in the Northern Afar, three
deep (2,100 m) wells found temperatures
above 270ºC.
Table 8. Geothermal fields in Indonesia (early 2005 data). tax exemptions for renewable energy
Field Location Installed Number Annual Electricity projects. The government’s commitment
Capacity (MWe) of Units Production (GWh/yr) a to renewables has also been confirmed
in a four-year geothermal development
Gunung Salak Java 330 6 n/a program, signed in 2003. Geothermal
Kamojang Java 140 3 n/a exploration is under way in other parts of
Darajat Java 135 2 n/a the country at Tecaumburro, San Marcos,
Wayang Windu Java 110 1 n/a Moyuta, and Totonicapán, but drilling has
Dieng Java 60 1 n/a not been carried out.
Lahendong Sulawesi 20 1 n/a
Sibayak Sumatra 2 1 n/a Iceland. The locations of geothermal ar-
Total 797 15 6,085 eas in Iceland are shown in Figure 6, and
listed in Table 7. Geothermal electricity
a
The only data available are for total production referred to late 2004 (Ibrahim et al., 2005) generation has increased significantly in
Iceland since 1999, with installation of new
power plants at Nesjavellir and Husavik.
Figure 7. Location of the geothermal fields in Indonesia (from Sudarman et al., 2000, Total installed capacity in Iceland is now
modified). 202 MWe. An additional 30-MWe single-
flash unit at Nesjavellir is at an advanced
stage of construction (Gunnlaugsson, 2002;
Ragnarsson, 2005). Two other geothermal
power plants are currently under construc-
tion, at Hellisheidi and Reykjanes. Their
combined installed capacity will be about
180 MWe, which will almost double
Iceland’s total. At Krafla, in the northern
part of the country, there are two 30-MWe
double-flash power plants. The geothermal
projects at Svartsengi and Nesjavellir in-
clude power plants with an installed capac-
ity of 46 and 90 MWe, respectively, and
transmission of hot water to the Reykjavik
and Hitaveita Sudurnesja district heating
systems. Hellisheidi, a new field that is
part of the large Hengill geothermal area
in the southwestern part of the country, is
currently under exploration, with plans to
install 80 MWe and increase the amount of
hot water supplied to the City of Reykja-
completed recently with installation of an is still in operation. Following the first vik. There has been a great deal of drilling
injection facility. There are nine producing four deep exploratory wells (two of which activity in Iceland over the last five years,
and four injection wells in this field, with produce steam), two new wells have been with 39 new wells that reach a total depth
six production and two injection wells cur- successfully drilled to define the extension of 55 km.
rently operative. At Zunil II, a small steam of the geothermal anomaly. As a result of a
cap linked to a deep hot aquifer has been positive field assessment, a five-year proj- Indonesia. Despite the huge geothermal
discovered at shallow depth. Its potential ect has been initiated to gradually increase potential of Indonesia, there has been
has been estimated at up to 50 MWe. A installed capacity with modular binary units relatively little development during the
development project was launched in 2003, totaling up to 50 MWe. A 20.5-MWe hy- 2000-2005 period, mainly because of a
with the drilling of two production wells brid power plant at Amatitlán was expected severe economic crisis that has adversely
and one for injection. In the near future, a to go online in 2005 (Lima Lobato et al., affected power demand and growth (Ibra-
long-term test will be performed to evaluate 2003; Roldán Manzo, 2005). In 2003, total him et al., 2005). Currently, the 797 MWe
the reservoir and its possible decline with geothermal power production in Guatemala of installed geothermal capacity from the
fluid production. The other Guatemalan was 212 GWh/yr. Developments at Zunil fields listed in Table 8 and shown in Fig. 7
field, at Amatitlán, also came online in and Amatitlán are supported by a new re- are being fully utilized. Note that total run-
1998. An old 5-MWe back-pressure unit newable energy law (2004), that provides ning capacity for the country is 838 MWe. A
98 GRC BULLETIN
International Geothermal Development
The Travale/Radicondoli area (50 km2) through a 20-km pipeline to the center of Martino). The Mt. Amiata area comprises
has 22 wells, which send steam to six the Larderello field, where it is injected. two water-dominated geothermal fields,
units totaling 160 MWe installed capacity. An additional 60 MWe are under construc- Piancastagnaio and Bagnore. In the
Condensed water from Travale is carried tion (Nuova Larderello 3 and Nuova San 1980s, a deep reservoir was discovered in
both fields, under the shallow geothermal
reservoir exploited at that time. The deep
Table 10. Geothermal fields in Japan.
resource is characterized by 20 MPa, 300-
Location Installed Capacity Number Annual Electricity 350°C water (at 3,000 m). Objections by lo-
(Prefecture) (MWe) a of Units a Production (GWh/yr) b cal communities have delayed development
Oita 153 7 1,108 of this high-potential deep system. At pres-
Iwate 104 3 643 ent, there are five units totaling 88 MWe
Akita 88 3 619 installed capacity at Mt. Amiata, one in
Fukushima 65 1 400 Bagnore and four in Piancastagnaio. A 20-
Kagoshima 60 2 416 MWe unit online since 1987 was decom-
Hokkaido 50 1 185 missioned in 2000. In 2003, the 40-MWe
Miyagi 12 1 81 power plant at Latera was closed because
Tokyo 3.3 1 15 of environmental and technical problems.
This field is no longer under exploitation.
Total 535 19 3,467 Liberalization of the electricity market has
been completed in Italy, with an incentive
Note: a Early 2005 data; b 2003 data scheme for renewables (Green Certificates)
that should lead to further ex-
Figure 10. Location of geothermal plants in Japan ( Kawazoe et al., 2005, modified, see Table 10). ploration and development of
deep geothermal resources.
On the basis of positive re-
sults achieved so far, some
100 MWe are expected to be
installed in Italy within the
next five years.
is 188 MWe, with 29 production and six in operation since 1983. Recently, the proj- drilled at Momotombo, stabilizing produc-
injection wells. In 2003, four 25-MWe ect has been rehabilitated, including instal- tion from 12 producing wells. The shallow
units went online. Los Humeros, located lation of a 7.5-MWe binary power plant. production zone is affected by lake water
in east-central Mexico, has an installed Running capacity increased from 12 MWe infiltration, with consequent severe cool-
capacity of 35 MWe (seven 5-MWe back- in 1999 to the present 38 MWe. Total in- ing effects. In response, there are plans to
pressure units) and 17 production wells. stalled capacity at the field is 77.5 MWe achieve full production by drilling new
All separated brine is injected back into (Zuniga, 2005), with 2004 production of deep wells and expanding exploitation of
the reservoir through two wells. Two new 271 GWh. Four injection wells have been the deep part of the reservoir (1,700-3,000
units for an additional 50 MWe are sched-
uled to be installed in 2008. The Las Tres
Vírgenes geothermal field is in the middle Table 13 Geothermal fields in the Philippines.
of the Baja California Peninsula. Two pro-
duction wells feed two 5-MWe condensing Field Location Installed Capacity Number Annual Electricity
units. At La Primavera, near Guadalajara, (MWe) a of Units a Produced (GWh/yr) b
there are plans to install 50 MWe in 2008 Tongonan Leyte 723 21 4,746
and another 25 MWe in 2009. Fifty-nine Mak-Ban Luzon 426 16 1,538
geothermal wells were drilled in Mexico Tiwi Luzon 330 6 442
between 2000 and 2003, for a total depth Palinpinon Negros 192 7 1,257
of 150 km. Bac-Man Luzon 151 5 457
Mt. Apo Mindanao 108 2 813
New Zealand. In the 2000-2004 period,
Total 1,930 57 9,253
three new geothermal power plants were
under construction or completed, including
Note: *Early 2005 data; #2003 data
start of construction for a 15-MWe binary
plant at Wairakei, commissioning of an
additional 6 MWe at Rotokawa, and start Figure 13. Location of the geothermal fields in Philippines (from Benito et al., 2005,
modified).
of construction for an additional 30 MWe
at Mokai. The status of the New Zealand
geothermal fields is summarized in Table
12. All but one (Ngawha) are located in
the Lake Taupo area, as shown in Figure
12 (Dunstall, 2005). The Wairakei-Poihipi
field has been in continuous operation for
nearly 50 years, with a stabilized decline.
The most recent installation of the 55-MWe
Poihipi power plant is exploiting a steam
cap that formed as a consequence of ex-
ploitation of a liquid-dominated reservoir
beneath. The Mokai field, which started
commercial fluid production in 2000, is a
unique example of a geothermal resource
wholely owned by a local community, the
Maori Trust, and operated via a state-owned
enterprise. This is a key element for local
acceptance of geothermal energy develop-
ment. Another 40 MWe of capacity are
currently under construction at Mokai.
Total installed capacity in New Zealand in
early 2005 was 435 MWe, with a running
capacity of 403 MWe.
geothermal field in The Philippines, with at 700-900 m, which is underlain by a liq- plant) could help development of tourist
total installed capacity of 108 MWe. The uid-dominated 250-310°C reservoir. Pres- facilities in this environmentally protected
most recent addition is a second unit in ently, 17 wells producing 330 kg/s of fluids area. Ingoring geothermal resources at the
1999 (Mindanao II, 54 MWe). A project with an average enthalpy of 1,600 kJ/kg Kronotsky protected area, geothermal re-
for another 20 MWe is currently under are ready for exploitation. This project was sources identified in Kamchatka (Fig. 14)
evaluation. New areas are under study, supported by a US$100 million loan from to date could permit installation of several
the most promising in Northern Negros, the European Bank of Reconstruction and power plants with installed capacity of
where a feasibility study for 40 MWe has Development. Another partially explored, about 1,000 MWe.
already been performed. Development is promising site is Nizhne-Koshelev, where
expected to begin in 2006. fluids have an estimated enthalpy of up to Thailand. A small 300-kWe binary
2,800 kJ/kg. Similar sites include the Bol- power plant provides electricity to the
Portugal. Geothermal resources of the she-Bannoe and Kireuna fields, as well as small village of Fang, using 116°C water
largest and most populous Portuguese is- the Semyachik field adjacent to the Kro- (Subtavewung et al., 2005). This water is
land of the Azores, São Miguel, are utilized notsky Natural Park and its famous Geyser also used in other, direct applications, such
for electric power generation. The high-en- Valley. Limited use of the Semyachik field as air-conditioning, cold storage and crop-
thalpy resource is exploited in the Ribeira (enough to construct a small 5-MWe power drying, using the 80°C discharge from the
Grande power plant, where four binary
units were installed in 1998. On the same
island, another geothermal project is being Figure 15. Injection effects at The Geysers in northern California, United States. (from Lund
et al., 2005).
developed at Pico Vermelho. A 10-MWe
binary unit will replace an old 3-MWe unit.
Total geothermal capacity, currently at 16
MWe, will represent 38 percent of the
electric energy produced on São Miguel.
In addition, a 12-MWe power plant proj-
ect is underway on the Island of Terceira.
Installed electricity generation capacity in
the Azores is expected to double by 2009,
with 45 percent coming from geothermal
sources (Bicudo da Ponte, 2002; Carvalho
et al., 2005).
Alaska. By October 2005, a 400-kW binary in 1987 (Sass and Priest, 2002). At the have been approved for the Fourmile Hill
power plant is scheduled for installation at Salton Sea field in the Imperial Valley, the area, but were denied for a proposed 50-
Chena Hot Springs, northeast of Fairbanks. operator installed a new 50-MWe unit in MWe project at Telephone Flat.
The power will be used at a large tourist 1999, followed by a second 10-MWe unit,
facility that includes bathing pools, an aimed at a zinc-recovery project from spent Nevada. Geothermal power plants in Ne-
ice palace, a greenhouse, and more than a geothermal brine. The project was aban- vada are listed in Table 15 and shown in
dozen geothermally heated buildings. doned recently for financial and technical Fig. 17. New plants are scheduled to be in-
reasons. Installation of a new 185-MWe stalled at Steamboat (42 MWe) and Desert
California. Geothermal power plants power plant has been approved. At present, Peak (30 MWe). Additional capacity was
in California are listed in Table 14 and a single operator is in charge of the Heber installed in the state in 2005 at Steamboat
shown in Fig. 16. The steam field at The and East Mesa plants, both in the Imperial (Ed.). Nevada is the state where most future
Geysers, with 21 units, after dismantling Valley. Projects for optimizing old units geothermal activity (exploration, develop-
old units and adding the reinjection proj- and increasing generating capacity at the ment and exploitation) will take place in
ects, reached a total running capacity of two fields are underway. Future develop- the United States.
888 MWe (net) in 2004. Electricity genera- ments are planned at Glass Mountain in
tion reached a peak of over 1,600 MWe northern California. Permits for 50 MWe Utah. There have been no significant geo-
thermal developments in the other states
during 2000-2005, a 26-MWe power
Figure 17. Location of geothermal fields in Nevada, USA (from Lund et al., 2005). plant at Roosevelt Hot Spring came online
in 2001. This plant generated 200 GWh in
2004. There are plans to install a 25-MWe
unit at Cove Fort-Sulphurdale.
Conclusions
Based on information shown in Table
2, the countries generating electricity using
geothermal resources in early 2005 can be
classified into three groups:
Table 16. Worldwide geothermal drilling activity for power projects, 2000-early 2005. EIMY projects), New Zealand (projects
Country Number of Wells Total Drilled Depth (km) for the coming years for Wairakei and
Mokai), Portugal, Thailand, and Tur-
Australia 2 6 key.
China 1 2
Costa Rica 6 12 • Four other countries can be added to this
El Salvador 5 10 group:
France 3 5
Germany 4 12 Indonesia. No new units have been installed
Guatemala 5 8 since a number of power plants came online
Iceland 39 55 around the year 2000 (80 MWe at Darajat,
Italy 21 64 60 MWe at Dieng, and 110 MWe at Way-
Japan 41 74 ang Windu). This increased the country’s
Kenya 9 22 installed capacity by 35 percent.
Mexico 59 150
New Zealand 9 25 Italy. There was only a modest increase in
Papua New Guinea 7 4 capacity; although 10 new units have been
Philippines 28 63 placed online for a total of 254 MWe, they
Portugal 6 4 were replacing old or obsolete units;
Russia 4 10
Turkey 4 3 Philippines. There has been only a mod-
United States 54 42 est increase (i.e. 1%) in capacity with the
Total 307 571 commissioning of the 22 MWe unit at
Tongonan; and
Table 17. Power plant distribution by plant type (early 2005 data).
United States. The country’s installed
Plant type Installed Percent Installed Capacity Percent capacity grew by only 3 percent with the
Capacity (MWe) (number of units) new 60 MWe Salton Sea Unit V.
Dry steam 2,545 28 58 12
Single flash 3,294 37 128 26
Double flash 2,293 26 67 14
Countries that began geothermal
Binary/combined cycle/hybrid 682 8 208 42
generation before 2000 and have signifi-
Back-pressure 119 1 29 6
cantly increased (percentage) geothermal
power generation over the last five years
Total 8,933 100 490 100 include:
Figure 18. Plant categories: percent of installed capacity. • Costa Rica, with a 14-percent increase in
installed capacity (18-MWe Miravalles
V power plant);
• Nicaragua, with a 11-percent increase in Table 18. Effect of reservoir temperature on production indexes. (Hotter: > 250°C; Cooler
running capacity (due to the rehabilita- <250°C).
tion of Momotombo and the installation
of new binary unit); and Index Hotter Cooler
Power density (MWe/km2) 7.8±6.4 6.5±5.2
• Russia with a 243-percent increase in
Well density (Wells/km2) 1.9±1.4 1.9±1.6
installed capacity (50-MWe unit at
Well productivity (MWe/well) 4.7±3.3 4.2±2.2
Mutnovsky).
Note: Values in the second and third columns are mean and standard deviations
Drilling Activity
Drilling data for 19 countries that use
geothermal resources in the generation of
electric power are presented in Table 16
(data for Costa Rica, Russia and New Zea- Figure 19. Geothermal power plant categories: percentage of number of units.
land are estimates). More than 300 wells
have been drilled to obtain hot fluids for
electricity production (and/or reinjection
of spent brines) over the last five years,
for a total of 571 km. Average well depth
is about 1.9 km.
Mexico, the United States, Japan, Ice-
land, and The Philippines were the most
active countries for geothermal drilling.
Acknowledgments
The author would like to
express his gratitude to the
International Geothermal
Association (IGA) Board
of Directors and to IGA-af-
filiated organizations for their
contribution of data for this
paper. Sincere thanks are also
due to Iris Perticone for her
help in collating geothermal
Geothermal Production Indices available, by dividing running capacity field data. Authors of Country
and Other Statistics by estimated reservoir surface (inferred Update reports presented at WGC2005 are
Data presented in Table 3 should be from drilling area). Results are shown in also warmly acknowledged for their help in
considered preliminary, and an indicator Fig. 20. The average value is 7.4 ± 6.0 clarifying many points. Last but not least,
of work-in-progress. For many fields, it MW/km2, but it is clear from the shape of Marnell Dickson, Roland Horne, Gerry
was not possible to obtain all requested the distribution that smaller power densi- Huttrer, Marcelo Lippmann, John Lund,
information. However, power density (i.e., ties are more common, in the range 2-6 Valgardur Stefansson, Jim Combs, Ted
MW/km2) was calculated using informa- MW/km2. Clutter, and Kelley Versteegh are thanked
tion from 70 geothermal fields chosen at It is also interesting to analyze the most warmly for their contribution to im-
random, for which reservoir data were number of productive wells per square proving the final manuscript.
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