Geothermal Energy Utilization and Technologies 2020

Rising pollution, climate change and the depletion of fossil fuels are leading many countries to focus on renewable-based energy conversion systems. In particular, recently introduced energy policies are giving high priority to increasing the use of renewable energy sources, the improvement of energy systems’ security, the minimization of greenhouse gas effect, and social and economic cohesion. Renewable energies’ availability varies during the day and the seasons and so their use must be accurately predicted in conjunction with the management strategies based on load shifting and energy storage. Thus, in order to reduce the criticalities of this uncertainty, the exploitation of more flexible and stable renewable energies, such as the geothermal one, is necessary. Geothermal energy is an abundant renewable source with significant potential in direct use applications, such as in district heating systems, in indirect use ones to produce electricity, and in cogeneration and polygeneration systems for the combined production of power, heating, and cooling energy. This Special Issue includes geothermal energy utilization and the technologies used for its exploitation considering both the direct and indirect use applications.