According to a recent report made by Pike Research, the energy generated by geothermal sources could see significant increases by the end of 2020.
Currently, the United States generate about 3.1 gigawatts of electricity from geothermal systems. On the other hand, as the report claims, 88 percent of the world’s geothermal energy systems currently in operation are used in just 8 countries.
Peter Asmus, the senior analyst on the report, said that potential for geothermal energy is huge, but it currently is the world’s least tapped alternative energy.
“Worldwide potential for geothermal energy is immense, but geothermal remains an underutilized resource and represents only a small fraction of the global renewable energy portfolio. Improved access to resource data, more efficient drilling processes, increased understanding about the industry’s potential, and improving access to financing are driving expanding interest in the sector,” he stated.
The same report shows that geothermal energy usage will increase 134% to 25.1 gigawatts in the following years. The United States will also have the potential to provide clean electricity obtained from geothermal energy to more than 7 million people.
