Project InnerSpace has launched GeoMap™ Asia, highlighting the region's massive store of untapped geothermal energy that if developed could serve as an affordable domestic clean energy option to improve air quality while supporting economic growth and energy security.
GeoMap™ is a pioneering geothermal exploration tool focused on expanding the adoption of clean, always-on geothermal energy worldwide by bringing together millions of data points from the Earth's surface and subsurface in a freely accessible and interactive map.
The International Energy Agency (IEA), using GeoMap™ data, concluded in its latest report entitled "The Future of Geothermal Energy" that Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have the technical potential to produce about 125 TW of geothermal electricity by 2050, which is roughly 700 times more total electricity than is currently produced in ASEAN countries. Geothermal energy also offers significant potential for industrial heat, as well as district cooling, in a number of large cities across the Philippines, Indonesia and China, the data shows.
GeoMap™ Asia builds on previous releases of GeoMap™ Africa, GeoMap™ North America, and GeoMap™ India. GeoMap™ Asia also includes a subsurface favorability analysis to identify geothermal hot spots as well as a ranking feature in Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore for coal plant and/or industrial facility conversions.
Geothermal, the heat inside the Earth's crust, is a firm, clean, always-on and scalable source for power and heat with a small surface footprint. Recent innovations in drilling technology developed and deployed by the oil and gas industry are unlocking geothermal's vast potential, making the development of geothermal as a clean energy source a crucial part of the climate conversation and leading to a recent finding from the IEA that there is more next-generation geothermal potential than any other renewable energy technology with the exception of solar.
"Asia is driving global energy demand, and GeoMap™ Asia shows that the region can also drive growth of abundant, secure, and always on geothermal energy," said Jamie Beard, Executive Director of Project InnerSpace. "GeoMap™ Asia lowers the barrier to entry into geothermal for governments and industry alike by helping stakeholders identify the near term opportunities for next-generation geothermal development."