Quantification of Barriers and Advantages of Geothermal Energy Use in East and Southeast Asia

Abstract

The authors have investigated barriers to geothermal energy utilization and calculated its expected advantages in countries in East and Southeast Asia. Barriers are categorized in five aspects: policy, social, legal, fiscal and technical. The most common barriers recognized are: national energy policy, lack of economic incentives, lack of expert, environmental matters, high exploration cost, lack of information/experience, and drilling technology. The Benefits of geothermal energy use additionally to national energy security or energy savings has been investigated as a part of an ERIA geothermal project. These merits per installed capacity were roughly quantified based on literature survey of past geothermal development projects or ground source heat pump use. The advantages of geothermal energy use cover local economic effects and national CO2 emission reduction. Finally such benefits per target new installation are calculated for each member country of the project.