Geothermal Energy: Pathways, Technologies, and Prospects for Sustainable Power Generation

Abstract

Geothermal energy represents a promising and underexploited source of renewable energy that provides baseload electricity and direct heat applications with minimal environmental impact. Unlike solar and wind energy, which suffer intermittency, geothermal systems offer a continuous and stable supply, enabling integration into national grids and industrial operations. This review critically examines the current state of geothermal energy technologies, including dry steam, flash, binary, and emerging enhanced geothermal systems (EGS). A systematic analysis of resource potential, geological considerations, drilling innovations, and power conversion technologies is provided. Moreover, environmental aspects, lifecycle emissions, economic feasibility, and global deployment trends are evaluated. The methodology emphasizes a comprehensive literature survey, comparative assessment, and integration of real-world data to contextualize geothermal energy’s role in decarbonization pathways. The results highlight geothermal’s strong potential to provide up to 8.5% of global electricity demand by 2050, while addressing limitations such as high upfront capital costs and site-specific constraints. Figures and tables illustrate geothermal resource distribution, plant designs, efficiency comparisons, and environmental benefits. The discussion underscores geothermal energy’s advantages in energy security and climate mitigation while identifying research priorities in subsurface imaging, drilling cost reduction, and hybrid system integration. This review concludes that geothermal energy can be a cornerstone of a diversified renewable portfolio, provided technological, financial, and policy challenges are strategically addressed.