Geothermal Energy: Addressing the Barriers to Widespread Generation and Use

This paper provides an overview of the current state of geothermal energy including the technologies and techniques for generation, as well as obstacles in the way of its widespread use. We examine the various types of geothermal power plants and discuss how distributed systems and infrastructure repurposing are expanding the geothermal energy industry. Modern innovations in drilling technology are also presented, along with an overview of large and small-scale geothermal energy costs for startup and maintenance. Lastly, we present some of the ongoing geothermal projects and the outlook of the resource in the future. The aim of this report is to synthesize the most recent research on geothermal energy and provide ideas for further investigation into how its barriers to growth may be addressed.