The Current Status of Geothermal Direct Use Development in the United States

Abstract

Information obtained don commercial, agricultural, industrial, institutional, and residential project in the United States that utilize low to moderate temperatures geothermal water as an energy source is presented in this paper. The annual thermal energy use of a total of 263 projects either online, under construction, or under expansion has been estimated to be over 1861 x 10/9 Btu. Of the total annual utilization, space and water conditioning projects (473 x 10/9 Btu) account for approximately 25 percent; district heating projects (426 x 10/9 Btu) are estimated to account for 23 percent; commercial fish farms (396 x 10/9 Btu) contributed 18 percent; while projects involving small resorts (120 x 10/9 Btu) and industrial process heat (118 x 10/9 Btu) combine to make up the remainder. All but one of the identified active projects are located in states west of the Mississippi River, with the bulk of the geothermal energy direct heat utilization occurring in Californian, Idaho, Oregon, Nevada, and New Mexico. The possible influence of various federal and state incentive programs on geothermal direct use development is discussed.