Development and Utilization of Geothermal Energy（Preface）

In September 2020,Chinese President Xi Jinping solemnly announced at the 75th Session of the United Nations General Assembly that China aims to have CO2emissions peak before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060.The core of moving toward low-carbon society is the energy transition,that is from conventional fossil fuel energy to renewable energy.In 2019,the total share of non-fossil energy was 15.3 percent in China,to reach 25 percent by 2030 and 60 percent by 2050.This great energy transformation in the 21st century has given a pivotal role to the geothermal prospects.

Geothermal energy had a major breakthrough as an industrial power source around the year 1904 during which the first geothermal power generator was successfully tested in Italy.Later the first commercial geothermal power plant in the world was built in 1913.In China,the usage of geothermal as a new energy was initiated in 1970 by Professor Li Siguang,the former Minister of Geology.In December 1970,China’s first geothermal power station（91℃,86 kW）was built in Fengshun County,Guangdong Province.Subsequently,200 kW in Huailai County of Hebei Province,50 kW at 67℃in Yichun City of Jiangxi Province,and 1 000 kW with high temperature geothermal resource in Yangbajing County of Tibet...These successes constitute the first boom of geothermal energy in China.

At the 2021 World Geothermal Congress,it was learned that the direct geothermal utilization in China accounts for 43.4 percent of the world’s total geothermal energy utilization.Furthermore,China ranks first in the world in geothermal heating,application of ground source heat pump,hot spring bathing,geothermal aquaculture,and geothermal industrial utilization（Only in terms of geothermal greenhouses,Turkey is preferred）,which brings the second boom of geothermal development and utilization in China.China's ground source heat pump has done the most in the world from behind,however the technology content in this area is relatively low.In 1970,China entered the process of geothermal energy development,it attached great importance to geothermal power generation.From 1970 to 1977,the total installed capacity of seven medium to low temperature geothermal power generation in China was 1 336 kW and the high temperature geothermal power generation was 1 000 kW.During the 11thFive-Year Plan period,China has spared no effort to support the development of wind power generation,and wind power increased by 670 times.And during the 12thFive-Year Plan period,it was solar energy,which increased by 100 times.However,China supported the development of geothermal energy in the 13thFive Year Plan,and geothermal power generation only achieved less than 4 % of the planned targets.In addition,for the development and research of EGS（enhanced geothermal system）of the world's geothermal prospective dry hot rock,the megawatt EGS power generation in France,Germany and other countries has been running continuously for more than ten years,but in China there is still a big gap in this technology.The important problem faced at present is the lack of geothermal professionals.In 2021,Chinese universities have opened geothermal majors,which will cultivate a number of technical talents needed for the great development of the geothermal industry.

Now is the early stage of the geothermal development boom of China.Many places have issued plans and projects to meet the general situation of dual-carbon targets.With the right condition,the development of geothermal in China has ushered in a more meaningful and good prospects.