Geothermal technology uses the natural warmth of the earth to produce electricity.

Iran lies on the world’s geothermal belt and is all set to use it.
The country is planning to build its first geothermal powerhouse to use underground hot water for electricity production on the slopes of the once volcanic Sabalan Mountains in the northwest.
The plant is built in the city of Meshkinshahr in Ardebil province for the production of 100 megawatts of electricity.
The project will enable the nation to join the six world countries, namely the US, Italy, Iceland, Japan, New Zealand and Turkey, which are currently making use of geothermal technology.
Geothermal technology uses the natural warmth of the earth to produce electricity, as well as heat and cool homes and buildings.
A “geo“ power plant works by tapping into steam or hot water reservoirs underground. The heat is used to drive an electrical generator.
The Islamic Republic was represented at a conference on geothermal energy in Turkey. Ahmad Kahrobaian, director of the Office for Modern Energies, attended the conference. Following are excerpts of his interview with the Petroenergy Information Network, says the website netiran.com.

What was the agenda of the geothermal conference?
The conference in Turkey was the first time that we were present. The event is held every five years. Around 70 countries were represented. Some countries like the US, Italy, Iceland, Japan, New Zealand and Romania widely use geothermal energy. So it was useful for us to attend the conference.

What issues were discussed?
We presented eight articles to the conference, which were warmly welcomed.

Did you discuss the economic aspects of using geothermal energy for generation of electricity?
According to the articles presented to the conference, electricity production from wells at depths measuring 3,000 meters is cost-effective. Depths of more than this figure are not economical.
Does this apply to Iran?
Twenty two countries are using this energy in their power plants and 55 others in other fields. However, electricity production from geothermal energy reaches the same figure in the world.
Geothermal energy is a proven source for direct heat and power generation. In over 30 countries geothermal resources provide direct heat capacity of 12,000 MW and electric power generation capacity of over 8,000 MW.
It meets a significant portion of the electrical power demand in several developing countries. For example, in the Philippines geothermal energy provides 27 percent of the country’s total electricity generation from power plant complexes as large as 700 MW.
Individual geothermal power plants can be as small as 100 KW or as large as 100 MW depending on the energy resource and power demand. The technology is suitable for rural electrification and mini-grid applications in addition to national grid applications. Direct use of geothermal heat can boost agricultural and aqua-culture production in colder climates and supply heat for industrial processes that can add value to local primary products.
Geothermal resources may be especially important and significant in developing nations where no indigenous fossil fuel resources exist such as oil, coal or natural gas. For example in Tibet, where no readily available fossil fuels exist, the Nagqu geothermal field (Tibet Autonomous Region, PRC) provides a useful energy source for the local population. With the help of the UN, a 1 MW binary plant was built in 1993.
Costs of geothermal electric power are very dependent on the character of the resources and project size. The unit costs of power currently range from 2.5 to over 10 US cents per kilowatt-hour while steam costs may be as low as $3.5 per ton. Major factors affecting cost are the depth and temperature of the resources, productivity of wells, environmental compliance, project infrastructure and economic factors such as the scale of development, and project financing costs.

The worldÕs proven coal reserve base represents about 200 years of production at current rates.

Without fuel, humanity’s basic needs for lighting, heating, cooking and mobility would not be met. This means having affordable sources of energy in sufficient quantities to meet the demands of a growing world population.
That coal can continue to supply the world’s energy need is not in doubt. The IEA (International Energy Agency) has stated that the world reserves of coal are enormous and, compared with oil and natural gas, widely dispersed.
The world’s proven coal reserve base represents about 200 years of production at current rates.
Proven coal reserves have increased by over 50 percent in the past two decades. The correlation of strong growth of proven coal reserves with robust production growth suggests that additions to coal reserves will continue in those regions with strong, competitive coal industries.
In other words, there is no resource constraint on the use of coal, as far into the future as we can reasonably look.
There is effectively no limit on the availability of coal in the future. This places coal in a unique position in a world where reliable supplies of affordable energy are essential for continuing global development.

Contribution
Coal makes a significant economic contribution to the global economy.
For consumers, coal offers excellent value. In most circumstances, it is cheaper per energy unit than other fuels, and as a result it has remained the fuel of choice for electricity generation on a global basis.
According to IEA, coal produces 39 percent of the world’s electricity, which is double the share of its nearest competitors Ð gas and hydro Ð and is also an essential element in 70 percent of the world’s steel production.
In hydrocarbon resource-rich Iran, the first systematic and extensive effort to exploit coal mines began during World War II, when the national steel industry increased use of coal to advance its development programs.
However, the coal industry in Iran has faced numerous challenges in recent years as the privatization drive has given high priority to ceding coal mines to the public.
But the Mines Development Organization has had little success in encouraging investors to participate in coal mining projects.
While the government has managed to persuade coal miners to take over some of the state-controlled mines, new exploitation projects have brought a fresh wave of problems for the private sector.
One thing to remember is that the national steel industry relies on coal as a major source of energy. Hence, the government has to do something about the poor living standards of coal miners.
In the meantime, the most important obstacle in the way of developing the sector is the negative outlook of the senior mining industry officials. On the other hand, the coal miners have fallen victim to the widening social divide and poor investments in efforts to rehabilitate the sector.
Many experts, according to the Persian monthly Eqtesad-e Energy, say privatizing coal mines would not be helpful, unless the government equips new mines with modern technical facilities and improves safety standards and personnel training schemes.

Key Role
The IEA expects the key role of coal to continue, with coal use in power generation projected to rise by around 60 percent in the next three decades.
If the relentless increase in global electricity demand continues as predicted, the contribution of coal cannot be ignored.
One of coal’s main virtues Ð its affordability Ð arises from the intensely competitive nature of its market. Coal prices have declined steadily in real terms over a long period of time as a result of competition in a free market, in which international trade has increased, electricity markets have been deregulated, mining productivity has increased greatly and shipping costs have been reduced.
More importantly, coal prices are consistently more stable than oil and gas prices, reflecting coal’s diverse and competitive markets.
The benefits to consumers, principally through lower power generation costs, have been enormous.
Since coal reserves are widely distributed, substantial economic benefits flow into many coal producing countries. Coal is currently mined in over 50 countries, and worldwide the industry employs some seven million people, 90 percent of them in the developing world.
The earnings from the industry are therefore widely distributed. Much of the coal industry in developing countries is export oriented. It is a major source of hard currency earnings, as well as savings in import costs. Overall, coal generates around seven billion dollars per annum in export revenues for developing countries and saves them $60 billion or more in energy import costs every year.
Coal mining can and does provide a significant direct contribution to economic development at the local level, particularly in the poorer parts of the world. Large-scale mines are often the biggest source of income for rural communities.
In addition to providing wages for local people, they are also the source of much local economic and social infrastructure Ð roads, transport, education, water and communications.