Geothermal as resource for megacities

Abstract

33 Megacities are distributed around the world, a number that will increase to 43 by 2030. Megacities are critical for the world’s economy, however, their management is particularly challenging in terms of transportation, water, waste, sanitation, security, electricity, and environmental impact. The increase of energy demand, in parallel to population growth and climate change, requires investment in sustainable energies. Geothermal energy – differently from solar, wind and hydroelectric is independent from weather conditions. A number of megacities around the world are located in areas with anomalous geothermal gradients, proximal to the margins of tectonic plates. This colocation makes geothermal an attractive resilient, baseload, low-carbon, energy source helping Megacities reduce their environmental impact. In this paper, we discuss the advantages of using geothermal energy, leading the study for the city of Bogotá, and applying the same workflow for Los Angeles and Jakarta. We aim to provoke the inclusion of geothermal in energy policies of other megacities around the world.