GHG Emissions, Sourcing Renewables  -  February 13, 2024

DOE Invests $60 Million to Expand Geothermal Energy

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the selection of three projects that will receive up to $60 million to demonstrate the efficacy and scalability of enhanced geothermal systems (EGS). 

These pilot projects, funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, are expected to use innovative technology and a variety of development techniques to capture the earth’s heat resources, which will demonstrate the potential for geothermal energy to provide reliable, cost-effective electricity to U.S. homes and businesses.

The projects also support the goals of DOE’s Enhanced Geothermal Shot, which seeks to cut the cost of EGS by 90% in the same period.   

“These projects will help us advance geothermal power, including into regions of the country where this renewable resource has never before been used,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm in a statement. “With significant investment from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, these pilot demonstrations will help us realize the full potential of the heat beneath our feet to reduce carbon emissions, create domestic jobs, and deliver clean, cost-effective, reliable energy to Americans nationwide.” 

The three projects are: 

• Chevron New Energies—This demonstration will use innovative drilling and stimulation techniques to access geothermal energy near an existing geothermal field in Sonoma County in northern California.
• Fervo Energy—This project within the Milford Renewable Energy Corridor in Utah and adjacent to the DOE’s Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy (FORGE) field laboratory seeks to produce at least 8 megawatts of power from each of three wells at a site with no existing commercial geothermal power production.
• Mazama Energy—The project will demonstrate a first-of-its-kind super-hot EGS (temperatures above 375°C) on the western flank of Newberry Volcano in Oregon to help advance the science needed to operate in extreme heat conditions.

Geothermal resources currently generate about four gigawatts of electricity, but a recent DOE analysis shows that advancing EGS could provide 90 gigawatts of flexible power to the U.S. grid by 2050.

These projects are the first round of selections under the EGS Pilot Demonstrations funding opportunity announcement. The second-round funding opportunity will cover EGS demonstrations in the eastern U.S.

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