Geothermal energy groups from around the world launched on Wednesday the International Geothermal Business Coalition to push for policy changes supporting the renewable resource.
The groups maintain that geothermal resources are not well recognized and too often undervalued in national energy plans, and they’d like to see geothermal development targets included in countries’ renewable energy goals.
The groups are meeting in Washington at the US Geothermal Energy Association’s energy technology and international development forum. In addition to the US Geothermal Energy Association, similar groups from Europe, Chile, Canada and Australia formed the international coalition to promote government policy changes to boost geothermal energy additions.
Geothermal power currently supplies about 10,715 MW of power in 24 countries on six continents, but the potential is much greater, the groups said, asserting that geothermal resources could supply more than 300,000 MW of electricity.
While geothermal energy use is expanding globally, “it needs government support to achieve its full potential,” the groups said in a joint declaration. For instance, the World Bank and other multilateral financial institutions should expand their financial support for geothermal development projects, and “there should be clear organizational goals for geothermal promotion within these institutions as well as specific senior staff designated to achieve them,” according to the document.
Without naming other renewable resources or technologies, the groups said that funding and policy support for geothermal resources should be comparable to other technologies. The International Energy Agency and the International Renewable Energy Agency both should consider more geothermal power in their prospective scenarios, the groups said.
“We will call upon each country to assess the potential of geothermal and develop effective long-term incentives and policy supports for this growing renewable industry,” said Philippe Dumas of the European Geothermal Energy Council.
