Geothermal energy has been used for centuries for bathing, cooking and space heating. More recently district heating and industrial processing along with geothermal heat pumps have become part of the direct-use mix. Geothermal electric power generation was started in Italy in 1904, with the first commercial plant on line in 1913. Presently, the total installed capacity for direct use is 29,000 MWt producing 76,000 GWh/yr in 72 countries, and the installed capacity for electric power is 9,700 MWe generating 60,000 GWh/yr in 24 countries. Recent trends are to maximize the use of a geothermal resource in a combined heat and power project. Geothermal resources around 100o have been used in binary (organic Rankine) cycle plants and then cascaded for district heating. Geothermal energy is considered to be both renewable and sustainable as part of the “green energy” resources.

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