The U.S. Geothermal Industry: Three Decades of Growth

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Abstract
Over the last three decades the V. S. geothermal power-generation industry has grown to be the largest in the world, with over 2700 MW of installed electrical capacity. Growth during the first two decades (1960-1980) was characterized by a single utility's development of one dry-steam resource. After 1983, growth shifted toward independent power producers, and development of water-dominated geothermal resources at several locations. In the absence of significant changes in demand, incentives, or the regulatory process, new geothermal generating capacity, through 1995, will probably not exceed 500 MW. The U.S. geothermal industry must increase its inventory of characterized geothermal reservoirs in order to meet the expected demand for rapid geothermal development before the year 2000.