North America a leader of geothermal projects

June 12, 2013 | By Barbara Vergetis Lundin

Conventional geothermal power exploits naturally occurring pockets of steam or hot water close to the Earth's surface to generate electricity. Because such conditions are rare, the majority of today's geothermal power projects are located in North America and Asia Pacific where these conditions are found. Although North America leads with the largest number of projects in the pipeline, Asia Pacific has the most capacity under development.

Located in areas of high seismic and volcanic activity, the island nations of Indonesia and the Philippines account for 63 percent of projects across the Asia Pacific region, according to the report. A reported 7.4 GW is currently in Asia Pacific's pipeline -- representing 40 percent of the global capacity under development.

North America and Asia Pacific lead the world in terms of geothermal power projects in the final stages of development, with 56 projects in either active drilling or construction stages, according to Navigant Research. The majority of the projects are in the United States, the Philippines, and Indonesia -- the top three countries in installed geothermal power production capacity globally.

"More than 4 gigawatts of geothermal power capacity are expected to come online worldwide between 2013 and 2018," said Mackinnon Lawrence, principal research analyst with Navigant Research. "This total includes only projects in advanced stages of development. A significant, though mostly unconfirmed, amount of capacity remains locked up in early-stage projects, some of which are likely to be cancelled before completion. As a number of these projects are further developed and their resource potential confirmed, the long-term pipeline -- 2017 and later -- is expected to expand proportionally."

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http://www.fierceenergy.com/story/north-america-leader-geothermal-projects/2013-06-12