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Technology and Program Market Data – Geothermal Technologies
This Web page includes a summary of market data for the Geothermal Technologies Program. Data includes market penetration; industry trends; cost, price, and performance trends; policy and market drivers; as well as future outlook.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory led an effort initiated by the Strategic Planning and Analysis group of the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) to produce a full report, which this page summarizes. The following documents are available as Adobe Acrobat PDFs. Download Adobe Reader.
2008 Geothermal Technologies Market Report
The 2008 Geothermal Technologies Market Report (PDF 1.4 MB) describes market-wide trends for the geothermal industry throughout 2008 and the beginning of 2009. It begins with an overview of the U.S. Department of Energy Geothermal Technologies Program's (GTP's) involvement with the geothermal industry and recent investment trends for electric generation technologies. The report next describes the current state of geothermal power generation and activity within the United States, the costs associated with development, financing trends, an analysis of the levelized cost of energy (LCOE), and the current policy environment. The report highlights trends regarding direct use of geothermal energy, including geothermal heat pump (GHP) systems. The final sections of the report focus on international perspectives, employment and economic benefits from geothermal energy development, and potential incentives in pending national legislation. Highlights include:
- More than 1,000 additional MW of geothermal power came online in the United States, including 100 MW from binary plants and 10 MW from steam plants.
- The GTP made 21 awards totaling $43.1 million over four years.
- Google.org, Google's philanthropic arm, gave more than $10 million in grants to two geothermal companies and one research university to support their work on enhanced geothermal systems (EGS). Google's name-brand support thrust geothermal into the public spotlight and improved its standing as a viable alternative energy source, alongside wind and solar.
- The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) leased 301,588 acres of land for geothermal power development, a substantial addition to the 244,000 acres leased for this purpose since July 2007.
- The United States signed the International Partnership for Geothermal Technology (IPGT) with Iceland and Australia. The IPGT will lead to joint technology development projects with partner countries, reducing the cost of advanced geothermal technology development for each country and increasing the available expertise for specific projects.
- The economy-wide credit crunch dried up equity markets, making it extremely difficult for geothermal developers to locate financing for their projects.
- Glitnir Bank collapsed, taking with it an important source of geothermal financing.
- Price drops in the market for production tax credits (PTCs) decreased their efficacy.
- Investments in geothermal continued to increase.
- Small, low-temperature power generation units began to account for a significant portion of the overall geothermal market, a trend expected to continue for at least the next several years.
- Modular low-temperature electricity generation units gained popularity. These units have the potential to become a major contributor to the national geothermal energy portfolio during the next few years.
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