A sustainability assessment framework for geothermal energy projects

Abstract

With increasing global energy consumption, geothermal energy use is set to increase in the future as the potential of geothermal energy is largely untapped in numerous regions. Geothermal development may result in both positive and negative environmental and socio-economic impacts and thus have multidimensional sustainability implications. Sustainability assessment tools are useful to decision-makers in showing the expected impact of energy developments on sustainable development. This paper presents a framework, uniquely designed for geothermal resources, that captures sustainability implications of geothermal development.