Geothermal resources in Mongolia and potential uses

Abstract

This paper presents an overview of surveys on geothermal energy that have been made in Mongolia to date and explores possibilities for its use. Mongolia has geothermal resources but geothermal utilization is not widely developed. Hot springs are though used for bathing, health resorts (balneology) and to a small amount for greenhouse heating. The main region of geothermal activity is Khangai, where there are 3 aimag (province) centres and 44 soum (village) centres, with approximately 241,000 people. Most of them are without electricity, using diesel generation in the evenings for 5-6 hours because of high oil costs. Coal and wood are used for heating. Using geothermal energy for heating, electrical generation and industrial purposes are the main incentives for developing a geothermal infrastructure in the rural areas of Mongolia. Bearing in mind that the Mongolian main gross domestic products come from animal husbandry, good possibilities are also to use geothermal energy for wool and cashmere washing and drying.