Geothermal Energy Resource Development Reporting and Monitoring System

Abstract

A Monitoring System is described for reporting, in a timely and comprehensive fashion, the important aspects of the development and utilization of geothermal energy in the United States. The Federal program for geothermal energy addresses technological, environmental, institutional, economic and financial problems. The system for monitoring geothermal resource development has been designed to measure progress in developing geothermal energy online and progress in enabling geothermal resources for development, thereby increasing the potential for future exploitation of geothermal resources, as a consequence of successes in the Federal program in solving technological, environmental, institutional, economic and financial problems that currently impede exploitation of geothermal resources. The key indicator of progress in the development of geothermal energy will be ''power online''. Projections of power online will signal deviations from national goals with sufficient warning time to effect corrective action. Correlation of Federal programs with national progress indicators will show where corrective action is needed. Preliminary indicators of geothermal resource development, based on very limited data, are presented. The analyses are illustrative rather than definitive. Some conclusions are drawn from these analyses.