Current status and trend of of geothermal power plants in the world

• Published in: Journal of the Geothermal Research Society of Japan Vol. 45; no. 4; pp. 215 - 222
• Main Author: YASUKAWA, Kasumi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: Tokyo THE GEOTHERMAL RESEARCH SOCIETY OF JAPAN 25.10.2023; 日本地熱学会; Japan Science and Technology Agency
• Subjects: binary cycle; Geothermal power; Geothermal power plants; Power plants; Steam electric power generation; world status
• ISSN: 0388-6735; 1883-5775
• DOI: 10.11367/grsj.45.215

In order to assess the trend of geothermal power plants in the world, a list of geothermal power plant by country was compiled from information in country-update papers of the World Geothermal Congress 2020+1 and from other sources. Then the list was compared with the past data. As a result, the following findings are made. The current top nine countries in total geothermal power capacities have average capacities of 25 MW or higher. Among them, Indonesia is the most prominent at 190 MW per plant. The number of geothermal power plants per 10,000 km2 of land area is 1.88 in Japan, which is the highest density in the world although the nation is merely the 10th in terms of the capacity. The countries with large geothermal capacities mostly have volcanic systems where flash cycles are common. However, in Turkey, which has the world 4th largest geothermal capacity, 80% of geothermal power plants are binary cycle. Also, in many emerging countries in terms of geothermal power generation such as Germany, 100% of total capacity is binary cycle. The cumulative capacity of geothermal power plants installed by 2020 is 15,945 MW with 838 units worldwide, and the capacity currently in operation is 15,067 MW with 680 units. In terms of cumulative capacity, share of single flash, dry steam, double flash, and binary cycle account for 40%, 20%, 15%, and 21%, respectively. But in terms of cumulative number of units, binary cycle accounts for 49%. In terms of new installation, share of single-flash and double-flash have remained almost the same since 2000, and dry steam has disappeared, while binary power generation has increased significantly. As a result, in the last 10 years (2011-2020), the share of binary cycle reached 52% of capacity and 75% of the number of units. From such a trend, the followings are expected in the coming decade: installations of single-flash and double-flash may remain flat, losing their shares, and that of binary cycle may continuously increase, gaining higher shares.