Overview of geothermal resource development with emphasis on engineering aspects

Geothermal energy is an important alternative energy resource that is commercially viable at some of the high-grade geothermal sites today. Although the worldwide geothermal resource base is very large, only a small fraction of these resources can be used economically due to inadequacies in technology. The geothermal industry is currently evaluating the state of the technology, and embarking on an R&D program, in cooperation with the US Department of Energy, that is aimed at improving technology and allowing more of the available resource base to be developed.