The Biden administration's Investing in America Agenda will fund three projects to scale enhanced geothermal systems to power the equivalent of 65 million U.S. homes.

The U.S. Department of Energy has high hopes for enhanced geothermal, a process by which manmade hydrothermal power is produced by using hydraulic fracturing techniques to split rock at depths much greater than naturally occurring geothermal wells and injecting water to generate steam, subsequently driving turbines to produce electricity.

Natural geothermal resources only generate about four gigawatts of electricity in the United States, but a recent DOE study shows that enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) could provide 90 gigawatts of flexible power to the U.S. grid by 2050, powering the equivalent of more than 65 million U.S. homes as well as providing nationwide heating and cooling alternative solutions.

Manmade geothermal energy has been around since the 1970s, but with recent advancements, geothermal may finally graduate to being part of the suite of globally viable renewable energy options.

Supporting the Biden Administration's Investing in America agenda, as well as the DOE's Enhanced Geothermal Shot (which seeks to cut the cost of EGS by 90%), and funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, The DOE has selected three projects this month that will receive up to $60 million in funding to demonstrate the efficacy and scalability of EGS through their unique, innovative technologies to capture the earth's never-ending heat resource.

"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 Granholm.

Three EGS pilot projects

These projects are the first round of selections announced for the EGS Pilot Demonstrations funding opportunity. Before funding is issued, applicants will undergo a negotiation process with the DOE, which can cancel negotiations and rescind the selection for any reason during that time.

The first three selected pilot projects:

• Chevron New Energies will draw on expertise in sub-surface earth sciences to employ innovative drilling and stimulation techniques to access geothermal energy near an existing geothermal field in northern California's Sonoma County.

• Fervo Energy's pilot within the Milford Renewable Energy Corridor in Utah (with no previous existing commercial geothermal power production) aims to produce at least 8 megawatts of power from each of three wells.

• Mazama Energy's project will demonstrate a first-of-its-kind super-hot EGS (temperatures above 375°C) on the western flank of Oregon's Newberry Volcano, helping to advance the science needed to operate in extreme heat conditions.

"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 American nationwide," said Granholm.

While the earth's underground heat can be tapped anywhere, a lack of very specific naturally occurring conditions has historically left geothermal and hydrothermal power in the dust in the green energy race. The DOE proposes to make the case that EGS can be used to tap that heat for energy almost anywhere.

The technology is not without risks, with the scientific community divided on how hydraulic fracturing could affect seismic activity. Streamlining and derisking EGS technologies to drive down their cost and expand applications can make geothermal electricity a clean, cost-effective option to help realize U.S. goals of a carbon-free grid by 2035 and net-zero emissions by 2050. 

A second-round funding opportunity will cover EGS demonstrations in the eastern United States.