Energy consumption

Engineering

Energy development

Statistics

Environmental economics

Geothermal gradient

China

Archaeology

Energy (signal processing)

Economics

Civil engineering

Computer science

Geothermal energy

Geology

Business

Development plan

Computer network

Renewable energy

Mathematics

Politics

Geography

Political science

Sustainable development

Sociology

Geophysics

Consumption (sociology)

Natural resource economics

Investment (military)

Geothermal power

Resource (disambiguation)

Electrical engineering

Social science

Utilities Policy

As a clean, renewable energy source with low carbon content, geothermal energy has the advantages of wide resource availability coverage, low environmental impact, low operating costs, and high reliability. For the development and production of more sustainable energy, geothermal energy has become one of the key areas of development in many countries. Geothermal resources are abundant in China and mainly distributed in the eastern region where the energy demand is the highest; therefore, the resources have the advantage of local development and consumption, which can alleviate the mismatch between resource distribution and demand in China's eastern and western regions. However, the development of geothermal energy started relatively late in China and has confronted many difficulties. This paper summarizes the status of geothermal energy in China and analyzes the existing problems with respect to policies and regulations, technological development, financial investment, and environmental protection. Some policy recommendations are put forward for promoting geothermal energy in China. This paper argues that the period of the “13th Five-Year Plan” is the opportunity for geothermal energy development. With the attention increasing, a series of policies to promote the development and utilization of geothermal energy could be introduced, and this resource could experience scaled development in China.

Geothermal energy in China: Status, challenges, and policy recommendations