An international workshop on geothermal energy development to be held in Taipei today is expected to explore the latest advances in the field and the alternative energy’s commercial viability, the event’s organizer said yesterday.
The APEC Workshop on Geothermal Energy Development has invited experts and industry heavyweights from the US, Japan and New Zealand to discuss the green energy’s future trends and development, said Digitimes Research, which is organizing the event.
Douglas Hollett, director of the Geothermal Technologies Office at the US Department of Energy; Noriyoshi Tsuchiya, a professor at Japan’s Tohoku University; and Brian Carey, department head of Geothermal Sciences at the New Zealand-based GNS Science, are to speak at the forum.
Representatives of AltaRock Energy, POWER Engineers and Schlumberger will also speak at the event, the forum’s Web site said.
Topics are to include the current status of geothermal energy, development policies and strategies, and an overview of the most advanced geothermal technologies, the Web site said.
Although Taiwan is rich in geothermal resources, it has experienced technical bottlenecks in further developing and utilizing it, Digitimes Research said.
The nation does not have any operating geothermal power plants at present, with the first one scheduled to come on line at the end of the year.
The workshop could “serve as a pivotal step in gathering international capacities and in providing surging momentum in geothermal development,” Digitimes said.
The two-day event is being held at the National Taiwan University Hospital International Convention Center, the organizers said.
Taiwan and the US state of Idaho formed an alliance in late April devoted to cooperating in developing the green energy industry.
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