The role of the geothermal energy in the renewables framework: an overview

Thanks to the international political response to climate change the past five years have been a period of unprecedented growth and development for renewable energy worldwide. The general worldwide renewable energy scenario and then the geothermal energy production and use is here outlined with a particular focus on geothermal energy in Italy and its development over the years. Despite the high capacity factor of geothermal technologies, the use of the geothermal energy is usually limited due to the local distribution of geothermal fields and the high up-front costs of drilling exploratory. However a notable contribution to the growth of this renewable energy is related and is expected to GSHP systems (open or closed loop systems), thanks to recent developments in the application of this technology, geothermal energy can now interest a wider area of development for heating. In general the implementation of legal and institutional framework and fiscal instruments is a crucial point to allow geothermal resources to compete with other energy systems.