Report on the The 11th Asian Geothermal Symposium (AGS11) held November 18th (Friday) – 20th (Sunday), 2016

The 11th Asian Geothermal Symposium was held on 18 to 20 November 2016 at Chiang Mai Orchid Hotel, Chiang Mai, Thailand, co-organized by RENRC and GREEN (Institute for Geo-Resources and Environment), AIST, Department of Groundwater Resources (DGR), Thailand and Korea Institute of Geoscience and Minerals (KIGAM), Korea. There were nearly 100 participants in this symposium mainly from Thailand and other Asian countries (China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam) while the others are from Europe (Germany, Norway, Switzerland), USA, Kenya and New Zealand.

The theme of AGS11 was “Hot Technologies to Expand Areas for Geothermal Energy Use.” Through a series of symposia, AGS has been focusing on technical information exchange to promote geothermal energy use in the Asian region. Many technical presentations were made by AIST researchers. For the program of technical sessions in AGS11, please visit: Program [PDF: 68KB]

All papers in AGS11 can be downloaded from IGA geothermal database: International Geothermal Association (IGA) (Outbound link)

AGS11 sessions began with opening notes by Dr. Shinsuke Nakao, GREEN and Dr. Aranya Fuangswasdi, DGR in the morning of 18 November, followed by technical sessions. Thanks to the recent Thai government’s policy to promote geothermal energy use, DGR is presently conducting nationwide geothermal exploration. Therefore a session directing to studies in Thailand was held in the afternoon. In the evening, a banquet sponsored by KIGAM was held at a site where delightful cultural shows of northern Thailand were presented over dinner.

On 19 November, AGS11 participants enjoyed a field trip, guided by DGR, to the Fang geothermal region where Fang Geothermal Power Station (a 300 kW binary plant) is in operation since December 1989. Special thanks should be given to Dr. Spencer Wood, Boise State University, USA, who gave comprehensive lectures during the trip based on his former study on the Fang field.

Technical sessions continued on 20 November, beginning with papers on latest assessments and technologies. In the afternoon, special sessions on “Opportunities and Barriers” were held in which eight Asian countries reported country update including social/legal/economic and technical barriers to geothermal power generation and their possible solutions. Finally at the end of the symposium, a closing note was given by Dr. Shigeru Niki, RENRC.

Note that a pre-symposium workshop was held by International Energy Agency - Geothermal Implementation Agreement (IEA-GIA) Working Group 8 (Direct Use) in collaboration with RENRC and DGR at the same venue on 17 November. In this workshop, twelve invited speakers from Asia, Europe, USA and New Zealand presented papers on recent activities on direct use including ground source heat pump (GSHP). Each session included substantial discussion time to find key points for the further promotion of direct use. From Thailand, Dr. Adichart Surinkum, Coordinating Committee for Geoscience Programmes in East and Southeast Asia (CCOP), introduced studies on GSHP under CCOP groundwater project, especially GSHP sub-project led by AIST. The workshop was followed by cordial welcome dinner at the venue sponsored by DGR.

All the presentation files at the workshop will be uploaded at IEA-GIA web page: International Energy Agency Geothermal (IEA-GIA) (Outbound link)

Overview