Enhanced or next-generation geothermal energy has massive potential in the western United States. This energy source could provide hundreds of gigawatts of clean energy around the clock. Currently, there are only 4 gigawatts of geothermal energy being used nationwide.
Naturally occurring geothermal systems tap into existing places where underground heat creates hot fluid in rock permeable enough for the fluid to move freely. There are simply not enough such places to provide very much energy for society.
Enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) inject fluids deep underground under carefully controlled conditions creating new fractures and causing pre-existing fractures to re-open. This new permeability allows fluids to circulate through more fractured hot rock, heating the fluids. The hot water is then pumped up to the surface where it is used to generate electricity for the grid. There are numerous places where EGS could theoretically be practical.
Rapidly growing energy demand from data centers and other electrification is driving western states to increase their support for the EGS industry in the form of direct investments and permitting reform. State-level programs are supporting pilot projects and first-of-a-kind systems across the region.
States active in EGS development include California, Colorado, New Mexico, and North Dakota. But state permitting can be a slow and unpredictable process.
All that underground heat awaits the efforts to tap into it. Experts see EGS as a source of clean energy that could become bigger than nuclear power.
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Geothermal has big potential. Here’s how states can help realize it.
