The direct utilization of geothermal energy in the United States includes the heating of pools and spas, greenhouses and aquaculture facilities, space heating and district heating, snow melting, agricultural drying, industrial applications and ground-source heat pumps. The installed capacity is 4200 MWt and the annual energy use is 21,700 TJ (6040 GWh). The largest application is ground-source (geothermal) heat pumps (59% of the energy use), and the largest direct-use for is in aquaculture. Direct utilization is increasing at about eight percent per year. A US Department of Energy program, GeoPowering the West, has been formulated to expand the production and use of geothermal electricity and heat in the western United States. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.