The world has been treading along the path of renewable energy to combat fuel depletion. Invariably, geothermal energy market has been benefitted through this trend. This niche industry has been garnering renewed acclaim across key geographies, North America being one of the pivotal ones. A recent news snippet reveals the exploration of 18 new geothermal hotspots in Canada, which are likely to provide a lucrative avenue for the Canadian government to enhance the grid capability of the nation, incidentally propelling the regional geothermal energy market. If estimates are taken into consideration, the British Colombia region encompasses several such sites that have the capability to accomplish nearly 8% of the annual electricity demand of the province. This ample availability of natural resources is certain to augment the usage of clean and sustainable energy for greenhouse operations and other industrial applications, which, in turn, will boost geothermal energy industry. For the record, in 2016, worldwide geothermal energy market held a revenue of USD 34 billion.
Europe Geothermal Energy Market, By Technology, 2016 (MW)
Pertaining to the depleting fossil fuels sources along with increasing rate of greenhouse gas emissions, the governments of various countries are mandating the use of renewable energy sources. Various European countries have deployed strict rules and regulations to reduce the carbon foot prints. Germany for instance, aims to minimizing greenhouse gas emissions by 40% up to 2020 and is heavily investing in green building infrastructure development. Also, the high demand for heating and cooling systems is likely to significantly stimulate Germany geothermal energy industry. Such favorable initiations undertaken by the countries such as Germany, France, Spain, and UK will undeniably influence Europe geothermal energy industry.
Apart from the European countries, U.S., which is one of the prominent regional contributors toward renewable energy industry in North America, has been rapidly making inroads into geothermal energy market. Taking into account the increasing adoption rate of geothermal resources for the purpose of power generation across the U.S., the government has been promoting the deployment of technological advancements and innovative projects to accelerate energy saving capability of electric grids. Recently, U.S. DOE’s (Department of Energy) Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) announced a funding of USD 30 million for 21 new innovative projects. Growing clean electric energy demand across this region is slated to enhance U.S. geothermal energy market, which exceeded a capacity of 2 GW in 2016.
The organizations such as National Renewable Energy Laboratories (NREL) have been continuously involved in research and development activities pertaining to various advanced geothermal technologies. To improve the production efficiency of geothermal electric power plants, the NREL has developed an advanced condensing technology that helps geothermal electric plants to generate electricity with high efficiency and lower cost. In the United States, geothermal reservoirs of hot water situated in the western states of Hawaii, and Alaska are used to generate electricity, which will fuel the regional geothermal energy market size over the years ahead.
NREL experts are focusing on the evaluation of technical and economical benefits of combining geothermal systems with other renewable and fossil energy technologies. The trends of geothermal-solar and geothermal-oil & gas combinations for energy saving and cost effectiveness are on the rise. Companies have also been investing heavily to utilize value added commercial opportunities like mineral recovery and water desalination. Mineral recovery in fact, is highly beneficial for the geothermal plant owner in terms of revenue and scaling, as geothermal sources are potentially important sources of valuable metals and minerals. Furthermore, increasing consumer demand for clean energy technologies and shifting trends toward the usage of electric vehicles will also generate huge opportunities for the players in geothermal energy market.
The prominent giants in geothermal energy industry include Fuji Electric, Mitsubishi heavy industry, General Electric, Terra-Gen, Chevron, Toshiba, Ormat Technologies, Enel Green Power corp., U.S. Geothermal, Ansaldo Energia, Reykjavik geothermal, TAS Energy, and Turboden.
The Japan based Idemitsu Kosan had recently commenced the Takigami binary geothermal power plant of 5 MW capacity under the tag of their subsidiary, Idemitsu Oita Geothermal Co., Ltd. – a move that may have a favorable impact on binary geothermal energy industry, slated to register an annual growth rate of more than 9% over the coming seven years, pertaining to the cost-effectiveness of the technology. Estimates claim Japan to own around 10% of the world’s geothermal resources, which in itself is an evidence that the region is a fairly profitable avenue for geothermal energy market. Favorable initiation taken by the Japanese government to promote renewable energy will propel Japan geothermal energy market, which will record a CAGR of more than 8% over the period of 2017-2024.
Geothermal energy market is certain to be heavily impelled by the numerous ongoing research activities that focus on increased efficiency in energy harnessing process coupled with cost-effectiveness. These R&D programs are also expected to generate lucrative opportunities for the players in geothermal energy market. A research report compiled by Global Market Insights, Inc., expounds the importance of this business sphere, claiming geothermal energy market size to surpass USD 57 billion by the end of 2024.