There are 3 kinds of geothermal energy:

• heat pumps (below 100°C)- for heat only. Warm water is found in some rock formations 1000-2500m deep, and can be used directly, or thorugh a heat exchanger. This is a really cheap form of energy when available (costs less than 1cEUR/kWh, i.e. a third of what the cheapest electricity currently costs)

• medium temperatures (100-250°C) - Warm water found in specific rock formations again, either below 1000m deep or in the 2000-4000m range. Can be used for heat in collective systems

• high temperatures - 1500 to 3000°C steam reservoirs (with or without water) usually found in volcanic areas or at the border of tectonic plaques. Used for heat or electricity generation. Dry steam can be used directly tyo generate electricity.

The world leaders are the USA, Italy and the Philippines, where enough cost effective sites (typically 3-6cEUR/kWh cost for electricity generation) were found. I don't really know about the availability of more expensive sites, but if there are massive "reserves" available at 3-5 times current costs (presumably 10-20cEUR/kWh), that would make it a serious contender for reasonably cheap electricity if we go into crisis mode. (Wind costs 4-7cEUR/kWh.

DoDo- a small correction. I seriously doubt that Germany's base load is only 35 GW. France's is more like 50 or 60.

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes