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Field guide

Geothermal energy

Earth has a slow-cooked centre; we only get a steady share where geology cooperates.

Overview

Geothermal energy uses heat from inside Earth for electricity or direct heat. Hydrothermal resources are geographically concentrated. IPCC AR6 WGIII treats geothermal alongside other renewables in low-carbon portfolios; engineered or enhanced approaches can expand access but raise engineering and induced-seismicity considerations.

By the numbers

Evidence highlights

3 beats
  1. 01

    Where resource quality is high, geothermal can provide relatively steady output compared with variable wind and solar.

  2. 02

    Exploration and drilling costs, plus geology, strongly shape economics; not every region has suitable reservoirs.

  3. 03

    Induced seismicity and water use must be managed with monitoring and regulatory safeguards.

Chart

Explore the data

Installed geothermal electricity capacity (megawatts). Capacity differs from annual generation—resource quality and load factors matter. See the grapher page for the IRENA-based dataset notes.

Chart: Our World in Data (CC BY). Each grapher page lists the underlying datasets, units, and processing notes—use it when citing numbers.

Open on Our World in Data

Trade-offs

Where it helps—and where it hurts

Strengths

  • Low direct emissions during operation compared with unabated fossil heat or power in many contexts.
  • Can provide baseload or flexible output where the resource supports reliable production.
  • Co-benefits for district heating and industrial heat where resources sit near demand.

Limits & trade-offs

  • Best resources are geographically constrained; dry or low-temperature regions may not be economical.
  • Exploration risk and long development timelines resemble mining or oil-and-gas drilling in some cases.
  • Enhanced geothermal can face public acceptance issues if seismicity is poorly managed.

References

Sources for this page

These entries are starting points for verification. Prefer the original report or dataset when checking numbers and figures.

  1. IPCC AR6 WGIII Ch. 6Clarke, L., Wei, Y.-M., De La Vega Navarro, A., Garg, A., Hahmann, A. N., Khennas, S., Azevedo, I. M. L., Loschel, A., Singh, A. K., Steg, L., Strbac, G., & Wada, K. (2022). Energy systems. In P. R. Shukla et al. (Eds.), Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change (IPCC AR6 WGIII, Chapter 6). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009157926.008
  2. IEA RenewablesInternational Energy Agency. (2024). Renewables 2024: Analysis and forecast to 2030. IEA. https://www.iea.org/reports/renewables-2024
  3. Our World in DataRitchie, H., & Rosado, P. (2020). Electricity mix. Our World in Data. https://ourworldindata.org/electricity-mix (underlying grapher datasets include Ember and Energy Institute series, cited per chart metadata).