Technology Status - NET Nowak Energie & Technologie AG

● Market Opportunities
Market Potential
Like the energy of the sun, the energy within the earth is immense and has a
lifetime measured in billions of years. However, geothermal energy is
accessible in limited areas, and unlike the use of sunlight, tapping into local
sources of the earth’s heat can result in a temporary decrease in the amount
of energy locally available. Even with re-injection of the geothermal fluid, the
heat content of the reservoir gradually declines. The recovery period for a
geothermal resource depends on how it is used. Resources tapped for
electricity generation could provide energy for 50 years or more if properly
managed. Typically, the plant equipment reaches the end of its useful life
before the resource is depleted. Continuous long-term use of geothermal
energy for electricity generation would require the periodic construction of
new plants at new sites, while previously-used reservoirs recover.
About 0.2% of the surface in Europe has “very good suitability” for
geothermal power (Iceland, Azores, Canaries, pre-Apennine belt of Tuscany
and Latium, Aeolian islands, Aegean islands and Western Anatolia). About
2.5% presents “good suitability” (areas on the border of the abovementioned
regions, Massif Central, Rhine Graben, Campidano Graben,
Pannonian Basin and the island of Lesbos). In these areas, several GW of
geothermal power capacity could be installed in the coming decades and
support rising power demand.
The geothermal potential capacity over the next 30 years is more than ten
times the capacity currently installed. The U.S. Geothermal Energy
Association predicts for several world regions the potential capacity for the
next 30 years as 22 GW in Central America, 10 GW in East Africa, 16 GW in
Indonesia, 8 GW in the Philippines and 23 GW in the U.S. World potential
capacity for geothermal power generation is estimated at 85 GW over the
next 30 years, about 10 times current installed capacity.
Technology Factors
Geothermal power plants supply more than 10% of the national power in
some countries, in those countries where geothermal resources are
abundant and competitive. In addition to these large-scale, cost competitive
applications, small-scale applications are approaching the cost range where
geothermal can compete for special applications and/or power supply in
remote areas. In these areas, geothermal plants might provide base-load
electricity. Following are areas for market growth:
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GEOTHERMAL POWER
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