Geothermal

Major applications of geothermal energy

Major applications of geothermal energy include direct-use and electricity generation.

Direct-use geothermal systems typically comprise of three major parts:

• a production facility to deliver the heated water from the geothermal reservoir to the surface,
• a mechanical system to transport the energy to the direct-use application, and
• a disposal system to receive and store the cooled fluid.

Direct-uses of geothermal energy include the following:
- Medical and recreational applications: hot spring bathing and spa
- Agricultural applications: greenhouse heating, fish farming, animal husbandry, crop drying
- Domestic and industrial applications: water heating and space heating.

High-temperature geothermal resources are used for the generation of electricity. The heated water either in the form of steam or liquid, is extracted from the geothermal source to drive a turbine which is coupled with an electric generator. A number of conversion technologies have been developed for geothermal power generation, including dry steam technology, flash steam technology, binary cycle technology and hot dry rock technology.