Geothermal energy in developing countries–The dilemma between renewable and nonrenewable

Abstract

Geothermal energy the first application of which was based on heating of hammam and space by the Romans in ancient times is now widely used in 88 countries with total 15950 MWe power and 107727 MWt thermal installed capacity. Geothermal energy which takes its energy from the depths of the earth is not affected much by external meteorological factors and therefore its the most important advantage compared to other renewable energy sources can produce almost uninterrupted energy throughout the year. On the other hand extracting this resource and transferring it to the surface is long difficult and costly. In order for a geothermal resource to be a clean environmentally friendly and sustainable energy source the most important thing to do is to reinject the geothermal fluid used in various applications to underground. Only in this way geothermal energy can be considered sustainable. The usage areas of geothermal energy vary depending on the thermodynamic properties of the geothermal fluid. Combined systems should be expanded to increase the efficiency of geothermal systems. In this chapter firstly basic information about geothermal energy and usage areas are given then current technologies and status are presented. The dilemma: renewable or nonrenewable sustainability and future prospect for developing countries are discussed. In the last part basic approaches in the analyses of geothermal systems are illustrated with a case study. © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.