China has huge new estimate for geothermal resources

The government has announced that China's geothermal energy resources amount to 860 trillion tonnes of coal equivalent.

The Ministry of Land and Resources said this total is 260,000 times greater than China's annual energy consumption and is based on a new evaluation about geothermal energy resources buried 3,000 to 10,000 meters below 287 cities, 12 sedimentary basins and 2,562 hot springs.

The ministry said China’s shallow-lying geothermal energy resources add up to 9.5 billion tonnes of coal equivalent, with annually available resources amounting to 350 million tonnes of coal equivalent.

If shallow-lying resources are effectively used, China can save 250 million tonnes of standard coal and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 500 million tonnes, the ministry said. Resources in sedimentary basins can save 853 billion tonnes of standard coal.

Geothermal energy resources are abundant in China, although the country's ability to develop and utilize them is still in its infancy. The United States has the world’s largest geothermal capacity followed by the Philippines, which relies on geothermal for almost 20% of its energy.

Despite its huge geothermal reserves, China is ranked 19th in exploiting this capability.