The US Is Sitting On 300 Gigawatts Of Geothermal Energy

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Plenty of hot air has been issuing forth from the White House regarding the wonders of oil, gas, coal, and nuclear energy. Nevertheless, the US Department of Energy is eager to tap into 300 gigawatts of geothermal energy potential in the US, dimming the prospects for both fossil fuels and nuclear to maximize their status in the nation’s power generation profile. In the meantime, wind, solar, and energy storage are racing far ahead of the pack for new capacity additions this year, proving once again that they are the most economical and widely available means of pushing more kilowatts into the nation’s grid, more quickly.

Wind & Solar Are Trumping Trump On New Generating Capacity Additions

Before we get to the geothermal energy picture, let’s take a look at wind, solar, and energy storage. Regardless of US President Donald Trump’s efforts to throttle back on wind and solar energy in the US, the independent agency US Energy Information Administration anticipates that wind, solar, and energy storage will dominate new capacity additions in 2026, just as they did last year.

“U.S. power plant developers and operators plan to add 86 gigawatts (GW) of new utility-scale electric generating capacity to the U.S. power grid in 2026,” EIA reported on February 20.

“Solar power makes up 51% of the planned 2026 capacity additions, followed by battery storage at 28% and wind at 14%,” the agency adds.

That doesn’t leave room for much else. Natural gas clocks in far behind wind at just 7%, with “all other” contributing a negligible amount.

Here Comes The Geothermal Energy Revolution, Finally

As part of “all other,” geothermal energy has been a perennial wallflower on the US power generation scene. That is about to change as new cost-cutting drilling methods and other advanced technologies work their way through the pipeline. By and large these methods are still in development. It will be a while before geothermal breaks out of the “all other” silo, but the industry already has a head start.

US oil and gas stakeholders have supplied much of the background know-how for the transition to next-generation geothermal technology. In the description of a 2022 grant program, the Energy Department took note of “numerous similarities that provide new opportunities for geothermal expansion—from advances in drilling and well construction to co-production possibilities in existing oil and gas basins.”

And, that’s where things get interesting. Last year Trump tapped Chris Wright, former CEO of the leading oilfield services firm Liberty Energy, to head up the US Department of Energy. Liberty was an early investor in the geothermal startup Fervo Energy during Wright’s tenure there, so it’s no surprise to see the Energy Department continuing to promote geothermal energy even as Trump champions the cause of fossil fuels and nuclear.

In the latest development, on the morning of February 25 the Energy Department announced that $171 million in funds are available to support new geothermal discoveries in the US. “Work under this opportunity will directly support our commitments to advance energy addition, reduce energy costs for American families and businesses, and unleash American energy dominance and innovation,” enthused the agency’s Assistant Secretary of the Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office, Kyle Haustveit, in a press statement.

“Projects under this opportunity are expected to help derisk geothermal development approaches and locations nationwide, which can encourage private investment, spur industry growth, and help realize the country’s geothermal potential,” the Energy Department elaborates.

The Notice of Funding Opportunity includes additional details, including a rundown of the next-generation technologies and systems that qualify for funding. Of six topic areas, the first four are specific to electricity generation. Topic 5 aims at direct use of thermal energy, and Topic Six covers exploration for both electricity and thermal applications, prioritizing new sites that have been previously unexplored.

Wait A Minute, Where’s That Money Coming From?

So much for the morning of February 25. On the afternoon of February 25, Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (D-OH-09) and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) had some questions.

“The Trump administration is unilaterally steering hundreds of millions of dollars from a diversified portfolio of clean energy technologies to help prop up energy technologies favored by the Secretary,” the Kaptur and Murray said in a joint statement.

“Secretary Wright is not above the law—he cannot provide more funding than Congress has provided so that he can help out handpicked industries,” they continued. “Earlier today, DOE issued a Notice of Funding Opportunity making $146.5 Million in fiscal year 2025 funding available for geothermal, while Congress had only provided $118 Million. This marks the first tranche of funding that DOE is allocating in defiance of the sums provided by Congress for fiscal year 2025.”

Ya don’t say. Last fall, Wright cut billions in spending on clean energy programs 16 states that voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, an action that a federal judge has ruled illegal.

Be that as it may, Democrats will have a tough time restoring the rule of law as long as the Republican Party controls the House and the Senate, along with six of the nine Supreme Court justices, so let’s take a closer look at that new funding announcment.

Look Ma, No Drilling

For purposes of simplicity, the Notice of Funding Opportunity uses “next-generation” to refer two emerging technologies, EGS (enhanced geothermal systems) and closed-loop systems.

Enhanced geothermal technology aims to free geothermal energy from the constraints of naturally occurring rock, heat, and water. Here in the US, these conditions are only optimal for power generation in a handful of scattered locations in the West and Northwest. EGS significantly widens the field of application by fracturing rock into human-made underground reservoirs, rather than relying on nature to do the heavy lifting.

Closed-loop geothermal (sometimes called advanced geothermal) is different. Instead of drilling multiple boreholes to create fractured-rock reservoirs, closed-loop systems deploy a working fluid to harvest radiated heat from a single well.

The common denominator is drilling, and the Energy Department is also interested in the idea of avoiding the time and expense of drilling. To that end, the funding notice specifies “No Drilling Required” for Topic Area 3, which covers closed-loop systems that can piggyback on existing wells.

Geothermal Energy Just Keeps Insisting Upon Itself

The steady march of new geothermal systems is just one element stimulating a fresh wave of interest in geothermal energy. Another factor consists of new underground mapping tools that enable surveyors to assess more potential geothermal sites than ever before.

In its 2022 funding program, the Energy Department estimated that the US has 60 gigawatts of geothermal potential under its belt. That same year, the “Enhanced Geothermal Shot” program calculated a potential of 90 gigawatts by 2050, assuming the cost of EGS comes down. In a recent summary, the Energy Department cites the “Next-Generation Geothermal Power” report, which puts the potential at 300 gigawatts.

By way of comparison, the agency’s 2025 US Geothermal Market Report registered just under 4 gigawatts of nameplate capacity for geothermal power plants as of 2024, so there is plenty of room for growth.

That’s all well and good, but as Kaptur and Murray underscore, geothermal is a still-developing energy resource that has a long way to go before it can produce electricity at the scale and cost afforded by wind, solar, and storage. Illegally misdirecting funds to benefit Wright’s former industry is on brand for Trump and his administration, but it won’t help bring down household utility bills any time soon.

Image: “Geothermal energy has the potential to assist with many aspects of the transition to a clean energy economy, including energy storage, mineral extraction, and more.” (by Joelynn Schroeder, NREL)