Perspectives for Geothermal Energy in Europe

The potential for energy transformation from geothermal heat is limitless. For millennia natural sources of this energy, in the form of thermal springs, have been used by populations for heating, cooking and bathing. Modern-day usage has been extended to electricity generation from binary cycle power plants, heat extraction from geothermal heat pumps and use in greenhouses for industrial crop growing. Perspectives for Geothermal Energy in Europe highlights the status of geothermal energy in countries where natural sources of this energy are available. It concludes with a presentation of current geothermal policy and regulations within Europe, and discussion of how this fits in with the EU Energy and Climate Framework.

Suitable for students, academics and practitioners in the fields of energy studies, geology and the earth sciences, electrical engineering and environmental economics, this book is the first comprehensive review of the practicalities of geothermal extraction and use in Europe.

Contents:

• Introduction (Ruggero Bertani)
• Geothermal Energy in Europe (Philippe Dumas)
• Geothermal Binary Plants for European Development (Joseph Bonafin)
• The Icelandic Experience on Integrated Geothermal Utilization (Ólafur G Flóvenz and Brynja Jónsdóttir)
• The Italian Challenge for Geothermal Energy (Adele Manzella, Assunta Donato, Gianluca Gola, Alessandro Santilano, and Eugenio Trumpy)
• The Turkish Geothermal Experience (Sakir Simsek)
• Unlocking Geothermal Energy from Mature Oil and Gas Basins: A Success Story from the Netherlands (Jan Diederik van Wees, Maarten Pluymaekers, Damien Bonté, Serge van Gessel, and Hans Veldkamp)
• Geothermal Heat Pump Development: Trends and Achievements in Europe (Ladislaus Rybach and Burkhard Sanner)
• Policy and Regulation for Geothermal Energy in the EU (Luca Angelino)

Readership: Students, academics and practitioners in the fields of energy studies, geology and the earth sciences, electrical engineering and environmental economics.