Geothermal energy is becoming popular renewable energy source in many countries of the world. The United States still remains global geothermal energy leader, accounting for approximately one quarter of total global geothermal energy production.
However, U.S. geothermal energy production is somewhat stagnating these days because the federal tax credits for geothermal in the U.S are set to expire at the end of 2013, making things difficult for new geothermal energy projects to move ahead in this unpredictable economic climate.
The latest GEA (Geothermal Energy Association) report had special praise for three countries: Turkey, Kenya and Indonesia. These three countries are rapidly developing domestic geothermal energy sector in hope of getting more clean energy.
Indonesia, for instance, has abundant geothermal resources at its disposal with 27,510 MW of untapped geothermal power. The country already announced its plans to install 5,000 MW of geothermal capacity by 2025.
Kenya also has very good geothermal energy capacity with 7,000 MW of untapped power. This African country currently has 202 MW online, and has identified 14 geothermal sites for further development.
Turkey is also looking to further harness its geothermal energy resources. Turkey currently has 100MW of installed geothermal power capacity, and plans to increase it to 500 MW by 2015.
Earth's heat provides clean energy, it can help in development of rural areas, improve country's energy security and energy independence as well as create many new jobs. And unlike wind and solar geothermal energy doesn't require backup solution and is therefore very reliable and available 24-7.
