Recent trends in research and application of ORC plants for geothermal energy use

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyze the status of the development of ORC in connection with geothermal energy use, focusing on the solutions that have been applied in the ORC geothermal industry and that have been proposed in the scientific literature mainly in the last ten years. The paper analyzes also the further research perspectives that still need efforts in the research community. Some case studies are here analyzed, with reference to the objective of this paper. An outline is the review of some significant key-point, and the analysis of the future perspective both in industrial implementation and research advances. In particular the authors would analyze how the various solutions have been implemented and the problems encountered. The task is also to discuss the matching between technology transfer and industrial development and the future perspectives of ORC plants for geothermal energy conversion in liberalized market conditions without considering financial incentives.