DelhiDesk The Inflation Reduction Act, passed by Congress last year, provides federal subsidies for low-carbon technologies, including geothermal energy. Geothermal has the potential to provide baseload power and is cleaner than gas, but it requires drilling deep and fracturing hot rocks. The DoE hopes that expanding enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) could provide 8.5% of America’s electricity by 2050. However, the technology is capital-intensive, and permitting problems could delay projects for seven to ten years. Texas is seen as an opportunity, as it has fewer natural geothermal resources but only 2% of its lands are owned by the federal government. Many oil and gas workers’ skills are relevant to geothermal, but investors are eagerly awaiting results from startups’ pilot projects.
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👉 The Inflation Reduction Act offers federal subsidies for low-carbon technologies, including geothermal energy.
👉 Geothermal energy can provide baseload power and is cleaner and requires less land than wind or solar farms.
👉 Geothermal energy is plentiful in places where tectonic plates have pushed magma closer to the Earth’s surface.
👉 To use geothermal energy anywhere, companies need to drill deep and fracture hot rocks through which they can pump water or chemicals.
👉 The potential for enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) is immense and could provide 8.5% of America’s electricity generation by 2050.
👉 The main obstacle is cost, as exploring and drilling wells miles into the Earth is capital-intensive.
👉 The Inflation Reduction Act and the $1.2trn infrastructure bill are helping fund geothermal startups’ pilot projects.
👉 Permitting problems could get in the way, as geothermal resources are on lands owned by the federal government and could trigger up to six separate environmental assessments.
👉 Texas is bursting with oil and gas companies, and fracking is central to EGS, making Houston a capital for geothermal startups.
👉 Geothermal’s similarities to oil and gas could become a problem, as the oil majors may wonder whether geothermal has the potential to cannibalize their business.
👉 It could become clear as soon as this year whether enhanced geothermal is ready for prime time, or whether the DoE’s earthshot is really a moonshot.
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