About GeoPower

For over a hundred years, heat from the Earth has been sourced to generate low-carbon electricity.

In the last five years, the geothermal industry has recognised the potential of deploying advanced drilling and subsurface engineering technologies developed in the oil and gas industry.

The next generation of power generation technologies are more sustainable with a lower environmental impact than current geothermal energy systems, and no carbon dioxide or other GHGs are emitted during the production of electricity.

When considering the relative merits of renewable power sources, the capacity factor and power density are important factors to take into account.

The ability of GeoPower plants to deliver baseload ‘always-on’ electricity with a capacity factor of over 90% surpasses the performance of variable renewable energy systems like solar and wind, with mean capacity factors in northern latitudes generally less than 30% and 50% respectively.

Power densities of up 10 watts per square metre (W/m²) are delivered by GeoPower plants in low to medium enthalpy sedimentary basins, whereas a northern European onshore solar farm can only deliver up to 5 W/m² and offshore wind farms up to 4 W/m². Recent empirical studies have shown that the relationship between population density and installed variable renewable capacity means that onshore solar and wind farms may ultimately be limited to a power density of less than 1 W/m² in populated countries.