Geothermal Market: A renewable energy for the future

Master's Thesis from the year 2005 in the subject Business economics - Miscellaneous, grade: 8.8 of 10, School of Management and Administration Spain, language: English, abstract: The purpose of this project is to provide Enel with an outlook and a possible development of the geothermal sector worldwide. We analyzed the current geothermal market, its main players, the countries in which they operate as well as the most promising areas with respect to availability and accessibility. Further, we analyzed technological trends and pursued a risk assessment of the factors that mostly affect the exploration and development of any geothermal field. Based on the above analysis, we propose our recommendation to Enel to further strengthen its geothermal activities and global positioning. After getting a broad overview from the main geothermal organizations, we interviewed experts with technical and business background as well as geothermal operators, and visited production power plants in order to deepen our knowledge. The analysis of the information we gathered enabled us to develop the following conclusion. Geothermal is a clean, reliable and sustainable renewable energy, which has proved to be a viable alternative to oil, coal and gas. Its capacity has grown consistently over the last 20 years due to the rising attractiveness to energy companies. Among the reasons for this growth are the reduced exploration and drilling costs, the incentives that some governments offer and the increased corporate awareness of environmental problems (i.e., the Kyoto Protocol restrictions and the Clean Development Mechanism). A good example is Iceland, where 90% of the households already profit from energy offered at a competitive price and generated by geothermal resources.