Geothermal Energy. Made In America. So Exciting.
A clean power source with 100x potential
The world depends on China for most clean energy technologies today. China controls the global solar, battery, and EV supply chains, and they’re leading on innovation and manufacturing as well. They’ve driven costs way down, which is great. But their scale and head start threatens to leave everyone else in the dust.
So it’s super exciting that recent breakthroughs in geothermal energy, which seems poised to become a major clean energy force, are being driven by American expertise and entrepreneurs.
Not only can this new energy technology be ‘Made in America’ and exported globally, but it has other big advantages, too:
– clean (no emissions, no burning)
– generates 7/24 power (complements intermittent wind and solar)
– invisible, below ground (no big towers to protest)
– requires less land (great for space-constrained regions and countries like Japan)
– existing trained workforce (from a century of oil drilling)
– culture war friendly (drilling is relatable and very American)
Recent breakthroughs have stoked optimism that next-generation geothermal can be a big part of the clean energy mix, alongside wind and solar. And the dollars are rushing in. Just a couple weeks ago, Houston-based Fervo Energy raised $244M in new growth funding, following the successful deployment of it’s first pilot power plant in Nevada and recent announcement of 70% reduction in drilling times.
Oil and gas companies, otherwise skeptical of clean energy, are embracing geothermal technology according to the Wall Street Journal, because, you know, they like drilling. And just this week, the DOE just released a report predicting that next-generation geothermal can soon be cost-competitive with other energy sources.
What makes next-generation geothermal so promising?
Geothermal energy uses heat from deep in the earth to generate electricity. People have been doing this a long time, in places where hot water comes close to the surface naturally: regions with geysers and volcanos (e.g. Iceland and Northern California), etc.
But now, we’ve figured out how to tap the earth’s deep-down heat almost anywhere, using drilling technologies developed by American fracking companies (horizontal drilling, liquid injection, sophisticated geology computer models). Whereas conventional geothermal systems tap an existing pool of hot water, next-generation ones can push fluids down through deeper hot rocks and back up, unlocking power potential on a whole new scale.
Who’s driving geothermal innovation?
Many companies are developing next generation geothermal technologies and facilities, including Fervo Energy, Quaise, Eavor, Greenfire Energy, Sage Geosystems, XGS energy and more. Here’s some innovators and influencers to check out:
Tim Latimer, CEO, Fervo Energy
Volts podcast: Enhanced geothermal power is finally a reality
Texas Power podcast: Geothermal energy and the revival of a forgotten renewable
Jamie Beard, Founder, Project InnerSpace
TED Talk: The untapped energy source that could power the planet
Volts podcast: What’s going on with geothermal?
Climate One podcast: Geothermal, so hot right now
Cindy Taff, CEO, Sage Geosystems
PIVOT conference: New venture drill down, Sage Geosystems
Wicked Energy podcast: Harnessing Geopressured Power
John Redfern, CEO, Eavor Technologies
The Switch podcast: Geothermal is the future of energy
Cleaning Up podcast: Cracking the geothermal code
Matt Houde, Co-founder, Quaise
TED Talk: Unlocking the energy beneath our feet for the green energy transition
Curious Energy podcast: The Solution to Deep Geothermal
A geothermal podcast playlist
Want to hear more about geothermal? Try this Spotify playlist:
Go deeper on geothermal
And finally… from my guide to the 25 most promising climate technologies:
Go deeper: IGA, Canary Media; IRENA; Project Innerspace
Key concepts and terminology:
Closed-loop geothermal Using water or another fluid flowing through pipes (rather than directly through subterranean rocks) to tap geothermal heat.
Deep geothermal Systems between 150 and 5,000 meters deep, with ground temperatures between 30°C and 200°C 🪭.
Drilling technologies Many of the oil and gas industry’s innovations, like hydraulic fracturing (‘fracking’) and horizontal drilling, can be applied to geothermal.
Enhanced geothermal 😎 New technologies (e.g. drilling and data) being developed to make geothermal practical in places that don’t already have natural geologies where water easily flows through rock.
Hydrothermal plants Traditional geothermal plants which take advantage of natural geologies (near ♨️ hot springs and geysers etc) featuring heat and pathways for flowing water to tap the heat.
Geothermal energy Renewable energy generated by tapping heat coming up from the deep in the earth.
Shallow geothermal Systems less than 150 meters deep, with ground temperatures between zero and 30°C. Can support building heating and cooling via ground source heat exchangers/pumps.
Superhot rock energy 🚀 With the right drilling technology, gigawatts of energy could be generated from superhot (400°C) rocks miles deep in the earth.