Economic incentive of geothermal resource development for direct applications

As part of a mission-oriented program for accelerating the commercialization of geothermal energy, research is sponsored which concerns the quantitative analysis of investment decisions by industries involved in the development of geothermal resources. The results of a quick-response study conducted during the course of this research are discussed. The report specifically compares the relative investment incentive offered by two categories of geothermal ventures: (a) geothermal electric power projects; and (b) geothermal direct application projects. The attributes of discounted cash flows for several typical projects within each of the two categories are compared and, by using statistically-strong industry decision models previously developed, the likelihood of a favorable investment decision is estimated for each project.