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ePaper created 2014-06-03, 15:03:20 | version 1.30.01
40 02 MARKET AND INDUSTRY TRENDS to come on line in 2014.25 The three new plants in Kenya, Mexico, and the Philippines are all registered CDM projects under the UN Clean Development Mechanism, and thus credited for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.26 Several relatively small plants came on line in Europe during the year. Southern Germany has been active in development of binary plants with two 6 MW units completed near Munich in late 2012 and early 2013.27 In addition, Germany’s co-generating Sauerlach binary plant (5 MW / 4 MWth) was inaugurated in January 2014, delivering heat in addition to electricity.28 In Italy, a 1 MW binary plant was installed at the volcanic area of Monte Amiata (Tuscany).29 While Europe still has far more conventional dry- steam and flash geothermal capacity than the low-temperature binary variety, future growth potential for binary plants is very promising.30 With growing reliance on variable renewable resources, such as solar PV and wind power, there is also increasing interest in the potential for geothermal power to provide renewable balancing power and storage capability. It has been noted that geothermal power can be designed with the necessary flexibility, especially in locations where the growing need for balancing resources and geothermal potential coincide, as in California.31 Geothermal direct use refers to direct thermal extraction for heating and cooling, exclusive of heat pumps.i 32 (See Sidebar 4, page 42.) The main applications for direct use of geothermal energy are space heating (including district heat networks), domestic hot water supply, direct and indirect heating of public baths and swimming pools, greenhouse heating, industrial process heat, aquaculture, and agricultural drying.33 Geothermal direct use continued to grow during 2013, with capacity added in at least a number of European countries. It is estimated that global direct use was in the range of 280–375 PJ during 2013, with a mean of 328 PJ (91 TWh).34 This wide range reflects widely varying data for China, which is a significant user of geothermal for heat purposes.35 The collection of data on direct use of geothermal energy is lacking.36 Direct use is concentrated among the few countries where good geothermal resources coincide with heat demand that can easily be served by the resource, such as Iceland, and where geothermal heat has served both industry and social traditions, such as thermal baths in Japan, Turkey, and Italy.37 The countries with the largest geothermal direct use capacity are China (3.7 GWth in 2010), Turkey (2.7 GWth in 2013), Iceland (2.2 GWth in 2013), Japan (2.1 GWth in 2010), Italy (0.8 GWth in 2012), and Hungary (0.7 GWth in 2012).38 Together, these countries account for about half of total global capacity, estimated to be in the range of 19–26 GWth, with a mean of 22.6 GWth.39 China remains the presumptive leader in direct geothermal energy use, but estimates range from 13 TWh in 2009 to 45 TWh in 2011, or about 20–50% of global output.40 Other top users of direct geothermal heat are Turkey (estimated 16.4 TWh in 2012)ii , Iceland (7.8 TWh in 2013), Japan (7.2 TWh in 2013), and Hungary (2.8 TWh in 2012).41 Among notable new thermal plants that opened in 2013 is a district heating plant (60–70 MWth) in Miskolc, Hungary.42 The project exceeded initial expectations and is considered to be among the better low-temperature wells in mainland Europe, producing 70–90 litres per second at 100 °C.43 In Italy, a 6 MWth district heat system was inaugurated by Enel Green Power in April to serve municipalities in Tuscany.44 In early 2014, a cogeneration plant with thermal capacity of 4 MWth (noted above) was inaugurated in Sauerlach, Germany.45 In Europe, there have been recent efforts to improve accounting of direct use geothermal energy across all sectors, specifically balneology (e.g., spas, swimming pools), which may not have been fully reported before.46 Such examination reveals divergent profiles for geothermal heat applications. For example, district heating commands a relatively minor share of geothermal heat capacity in Hungary (19%), Turkey (30%), and Italy (10%), but very substantial shares in France (81%), Iceland (80%), and Germany (77%).47 i -Direct use refers here to deep geothermal resources, irrespective of scale, as distinct from shallow geothermal resource utilisation, specifically ground-source heat pumps. In addition, the term hydrothermal energy is reserved for energy stored in the form of heat in surface water, as per Article 2(d) of European Council Directive 2009/28/EC. Heat pumps—whether geo-, hydro, or aerothermal—are discussed in Sidebar 4. ii - Estimate based on 2012 capacity and 2010 capacity factors. Of this total, 11 TWh is associated with bathing and swimming, of which the 2010 data on capacity utilisation is notably high at 100%. See Endnote 38 for this section.