Including Geothermal Energy Within a Consistent Framework Classification for Renewable and Non-Renewable Energy Resources

Growing awareness and interest in renewable energy resources, including geothermal resources, has highlighted a need to normalize the way in which renewable energy potential is reported. The renewable energy industry has become a fully commercialized sector, in which several oil and gas majors have already started to play a significant role. These players have voiced a need for a common platform to assess and compare in a transparent way the potential of their renewable and non-renewable energy portfolios. A common assessment and comparison framework for renewable and non-renewable energy resources is also needed by investors, regulators, governments and consumers as a foundation for a comprehensive overview of current and future energy sustainability scenarios at project, company, country, region or world level. As no globally agreed standards, guidelines or codes currently exist, there is currently great variability in the way geothermal potential is assessed and reported. This translates into high investment risk and low confidence in development. The United Nations Framework Classification for Fossil Energy and Mineral Reserves and Resources 2009 (UNFC-2009) is a universally accepted and internationally applicable scheme for the classification and reporting of fossil energy and mineral reserves and resources. It is a generic principle�]based system in which quantities are classified on the basis of the three fundamental criteria of economic and social viability (E), field project status and feasibility (F), and geological knowledge (G), using a numerical and language independent coding scheme. Combinations of these criteria create a three�]dimensional system. The UNFC-2009 can already be used to normalize the classification of hydrocarbon and mineral resources. It also ensures alignment with widely used systems such as the Committee for Mineral Reserves International Reporting Standards (CRIRSCO) Template and and the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE)/World Petroleum Council (WPC)/American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)/Society of Petroleum Evaluation Engineers (SPEE) Petroleum Resource Management System (SPE�]PRMS). The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) therefore called upon its Expert Group on Resource Classification (EGRC) to develop ideas on how the UNFC-2009 could apply to and integrate renewable energy resources. Following agreement at the fourth session of the UNECE EGRC held in Geneva, April 2013, a Task Force on the Application of UNFC-2009 to Renewable Energy Resources was established. In turn, the EGRC Task Force called upon the expertise of the International Geothermal Association (IGA) to provide the specifications for the application of UNFC-2009 to geothermal resources and reserves using the full granularity of UNFC-2009. Along with the generic specifications, the geothermal specifications will provide the foundation and keystones for consistent application of UNFC-2009 for geothermal resources, and the meaningful comparison of geothermal resource estimates with other energy resources. This paper describes the progress made towards reconciling the specifics of geothermal resource classification with the definitions and principles of the UNFC-2009