Technology breakthroughs are unlocking geothermal energy's vast potential
Technology breakthroughs are unlocking huge potential for geothermal energy
Advances in technology are opening new horizons for geothermal, promising to make it an attractive option for countries and companies all around the world.These techniques include horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing honed through oil and gas developments in North America. If geothermal can follow in the footsteps of innovation success stories such as solar PV, wind, EVs and batteries, it can become a cornerstone of tomorrow’s electricity and heat systems as a dispatchable and clean source of energy. For the moment, geothermal meets less than 1% of global energy demand and its use is concentrated in a few countries with easily accessible and high-quality resources, including the United States, Iceland, Indonesia, Türkiye, Kenya and Italy.
With continued technology improvements and reductions in project costs, geothermal could meet up to 15% of global electricity demand growth to 2050. This would mean the cost-effective deployment of as much as 800 GW of geothermal power capacity worldwide, producing almost 6 000 terawatt-hours per year, equivalent to the current electricity demand today of the United States and India combined
Geothermal is a versatile, clean and secure energy source
Geothermal can provide around-the-clock electricity generation, heat production and storage. As the energy source is continuous, geothermal power plants can operate at their maximum capacity throughout the day and year. On average, global geothermal capacity had a utilisation rate over 75% in 2023, compared with less than 30% for wind power and less than 15% for solar PV. In addition, geothermal power plants can operate flexibly in ways that contribute to the stability of electricity grids, ensuring demand can be met at all times and supporting the integration of variable renewables such as solar PV and wind.
The potential for geothermal is now truly global
The full technical potential of next-generation geothermal systems to generate electricity is second only to solar PV among renewable technologies and sufficient to meet global electricity demand 140-times over. This is a key finding of first-of-a-kind analysis of geothermal potential conducted for this report in collaboration with Project InnerSpace. Geothermal energy potential increases as developers access higher heat resources at greater depths. New drilling technologies exploring resources at depths beyond 3 km open potential for geothermal in nearly all countries in the world. Using thermal resources at depths below 8km can deliver almost 600 TW of geothermal capacity with an operating lifespan of 25 years.