1. Revolution happening in geothermal energy industry
Geothermal energy supplies more than 10,000 MW to 24 countries worldwide and now produces
enough electricity to meet the needs of 60 million people. It is considered possible to produce up to
8.3% of the total world electricity with geothermal resources, serving 17% of the world population.
Thirty nine countries (located mostly in Africa, Central/South America, and the Pacific) can
potentially obtain 100% of their electricity from geothermal resources (Dauncey, 2001). Already 24
countries are using geothermal energy source for producing electricity and another 22 countries will
add to the list by 2010.
In addition to large power generation, geothermal is also used for direct use purposes worldwide. In
2005, 72 countries reported using geothermal energy for direct heating, providing more than 16,000
MW of geothermal energy. Geothermal energy is used directly for a variety of purposes, including
space heating, snow melting, aquaculture and more.
Snapshots of status and potential of geothermal energy
Renewable Capacity (GW) Market Size (billion $)
Market Size
Energy
Growth Rate (%)
Source 2008 Future Estimates 2008 Future Estimates
Geothermal 14 20 7.5 13.1 8
According to market studies, investment in geothermal energy is growing at 24% a year. This
exceptional investing growth rate is expected to continue - and increase even faster - for the
foreseeable future.
New Investments in Geothermal Energy ($ billions)
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2004-08 CAGR (%)
0.9 0.4 1.0 0.9 2.2 24
Technology Advancement
Estimated World Geothermal Electricity Potential with Present Technology with Technology
Improvement

2. As seen from the chart above, with technology improvement, the total electicity generation potential
from geothermal increases 100%. The technology improvements are likely to come primarily from
innovative concepts such as enhanced geothermal.
Until recently, geothermal power systems have only exploited resources where naturally occurring
water and rock porosity is sufficient to carry heat to the surface. However, the vast majority of
geothermal energy within drilling reach is in dry and non-porous rock. Enhanced Geothermal
Systems (EGS) are a new type of geothermal power technologies that do not require natural
convective hydrothermal resources. EGS technologies "enhance" and/or create geothermal
resources in this hot dry rock (HDR) through hydraulic stimulation.
With technology advancement, it is estimated that the following countries could meet 100 percent of
electricity demand with geothermal energy.
Countries that Could Meet 100 Percent of Electricity Demand with Geothermal Energy
Estimated Geothermal
Capacity Required to
Population Total Electricity Demand Meet Electricity
Country
(Thousands) (Million Kilowatt-hours) Demand
(Megawatts)
1
Bolivia 9,694 5,040 639
Burundi 8,856 140 18
Comoros Islands 860 20 3
Costa Rica 4,534 8,350 1,059

3. Djibouti 848 200 25
Dominica 73 80 10
Ecuador 13,481 12,940 1,641
El Salvador 6,953 4,690 595
Ethiopia 85,219 2,860 363
Fiji 844 1,050 133
Grenada 106 150 19
Guadeloupe 448 1,100 140
Guatemala 13,686 7,280 923
Honduras 7,246 5,340 677
Iceland 303 8,530 1,082
Indonesia 234,342 120,330 15,263
Kenya 38,550 5,500 698
Madagascar 20,215 1,050 133
Malawi 14,288 1,400 178
Martinique 400 1,120 142
Montserrat 10 20 3
Mozambique 21,813 13,170 1,670
Nicaragua 5,676 2,720 345
Panama 3,399 5,660 718
Papua New Guinea 6,458 3,700 469
Peru 28,221 24,970 3,167
Philippines 89,651 53,670 6,807
Rwanda 10,009 100 13
Saint Kitts and Nevis 40 130 16
Saint Lucia 167 300 38

4. Saint Vincent 121 120 15
Solomon Islands 507 60 8
Somalia 8,956 270 34
Sudan 39,445 3,940 500
Tanzania 41,464 1,880 238
Tonga 101 40 5
Uganda 31,903 1,980 251
Vanuatu 232 40 5
Yemen 23,066 4,460 566
Total 772,185 304,400 38,610
1
Assuming a capacity factor of 90 percent, typical of new geothermal power plants.
Government mandates and incentives for geothermal energy
Currently, geothermal as a renewable energy source is being explored in a significant manner only
in a fraction of the total number of countries worldwide, but this number is likely to increase with
advanced technologies as Enhanced Geothermal is expanding the range of potential regions that
could be sources of geothermal energy. In those countries that have existing proven geothermal
resources (such as the USA and Philippines), the governments have released mandates and
programmes that show exceptional support for this renewable energy source. This support is in the
form of tax breaks, grants, subsidies and more.
How can individuals and entrepreneurs benefit from this dramatic
opportunity?
Geothermal energy industry presents attractive opportunities to a wide range of people, including
investors and entrepreneurs.

5. Business opportunities by scale of investments required
Scale of
Type of Opportunity
Investment
Consulting and installation for home-based geothermal systems
Low
Training people for geothermal heat pump installations
Setting up medium scale geothermal plants
Medium
Setting up manufacturing plants for components and accessories for the geothermal energy industry
Setting up large-scale geothermal equipment and components manufacturing plants
Setting up large geothermal power plants or home-based geothermal installations
High Involving in large-scale distribution of biofuels
o Centralized grid-connected geothermal plants
o Installing large-scale distributed (home or location-based) geothermal heat pumps