These projects will demonstrate the potential for geothermal energy to provide reliable, cost-effective electricity to tens of millions of U.S. homes and businesses and help deliver on the President’s goal of 100% clean electricity by 2035. They also support the goals of DOE’s Enhanced Geothermal Shot™, which seeks to cut the cost of EGS 90% in the same time 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.
The three projects are:
Geothermal resources currently generate about four gigawatts of electricity in the United States, but a recent DOE analysis shows that advancing EGS could provide 90 gigawatts of firm, flexible power to the U.S. grid by 2050—enough to power the equivalent of more than 65 million U.S. homes—as well as support heating and cooling solutions nationwide.
Improving and derisking EGS technologies and reducing their cost can help the nation realize this potential, making geothermal electricity a clean, cost-effective option across the country while spurring progress toward the Administration’s goals of a carbon-free grid by 2035 and net-zero emissions 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 United States.
