WGC2023 in Beijing, China highlights global geothermal growth and potential

The opening ceremony of the World Geothermal Congress 2023 in Beijing, China (source: ThinkGeoEnergy)

Carlo Cariaga 15 Sep 2023

The 7th World Geothermal Congress (WGC2023), hosted by China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group) under the theme of “Clean Geothermal, Green Earth,” kicks off at China National Convention Center in Beijing. It is China’s first time hosting the international geothermal event of this kind.

The three-day WGC 2023 is attended by more than 1,400 guests from 54 countries and regions, hosting 88 forums and seminars in parallel with technology and equipment exhibition, which is joined by a record-setting number of companies. The triennial conference is a leading global platform where leaders from industry, academia, the finance sector, governments, NGOs, and communities share the latest scientific and technological achievements and collaborate on solutions to build a sustainable society.

WGC2023 has released two reports, Report on the Progress of Global Geothermal Power Generation, and Geothermal Heating and Cooling Production, 2023 Worldwide Review, showing the current achievements in global geothermal development:

• 31 countries now have geothermal power plants in operation; the total global installed capacity of geothermal power generation is 16,260 megawatts, which is distributed in 197 geothermal fields;
• The commercially utilized hydrothermal resources have an average annual output of close to 3 megawatt-hours per well;
• By 2022, the global installed capacity of geothermal heating and cooling was equivalent to 173 million kWh, up 60% from 2020, while China has scored the most significant growth.
• In 2022, 1,476 PJ (410 TWh) of geothermal energy has been used globally, a 44% increase from 2020, among them, the geothermal heating and cooling of buildings accounted for about 79% of the total.

China also published the first national report on geothermal development-Report on High-Quality Development of Geothermal Industry in China. With abundant geothermal resources that account for about one-sixth of the global total and present great potential for development and utilization, China’s direct utilization of geothermal heating has ranked No.1 in the world for many years.

Sinopec is leading China’s development and utilization of geothermal energy. Sinopec has one key laboratory for geothermal resource development and owns over 130 technology patents. The company now has geothermal heating capacity in more than 60 cities in 11 provinces of China, with 22 cities reaching the capacity of over 1 million square meters. Sinopec is expected to exceed 100 million square meters of geothermal heating capacity by the end of 2023.

Source: Sinopec via PR Newswire