Deep beneath Utah’s desert soil, an oil drill bored through the Earth at a blistering pace earlier this spring, creating a borehole that stretches nearly 3 miles toward the center of the Earth. However, this project isn’t searching for fossil fuel; it’s seeking next-generation clean energy. Fervo Energy, the Houston-based company leading the project, is using drilling know-how from the oil and gas industry to tap into underground heat, paving the way for clean, abundant geothermal energy available anywhere on the planet.
Next-gen geothermal has the potential to meet global electricity demand 140 times over, according to the International Energy Agency. It’s one of the only forms of clean energy that may be palatable for the fossil fuel-focused Trump administration. Yet, the pathway to success is littered with challenges, from high costs and complex engineering problems to the risk of earthquakes as drills prod deep into the ground.
Humans have used geothermal energy for thousands of years, first for cooking and bathing, and more recently for heating homes and generating electricity. It is the stuff of clean-energy dreams: near limitless and available 24/7. Solar and wind are cheap but intermittent, relying on the sun shining and the wind blowing. Finding a so-called baseload source of clean energy that can support them is a climate holy grail.
Fervo’s next-gen technique is called “enhanced geothermal.” It drills two wells deep underground, first vertically then horizontally, and pumps down fluid at high pressure to shatter the rock in a process called hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking.” Water is then pumped down one well, to circulate through the cracks and heat up, before it’s brought to the surface via the second well.
“We’ve done more fracking and more drilling than any other country in the entire world,” said David Turk, the former deputy energy secretary in the Biden administration. “We have a ready-made workforce.” Trump’s Energy Secretary Chris Wright sat on the board of Fervo before starting his post at the Department of Energy. Geothermal has so far seemed to escape the chainsaw the Trump administration has taken to other forms of renewable energy.
Fervo’s CEO, Tim Latimer, is bullish about the company’s progress. “The pace of technology innovation in geothermal has outpaced what really any market observers expected,” he said. “You could meet humanity’s energy needs for 17 billion years based off just what’s in the heat of the Earth.” Experts are excited by Fervo’s progress, with Cornell’s Jefferson Tester saying, “It’s not cheap to do this, but if they’re successful, it will be a big step forward.”
However, enhanced geothermal still faces many challenges, including slashing costs, scaling up drilling under high-pressures and temperatures, and water use. Earthquakes are also a concern, with Gillian Foulger, a geologist at Durham University, noting that they are “an industrial nuisance, basically akin to pollution.” Despite these challenges, advocates believe geothermal could be a clean energy gamechanger.
Other companies are exploring different technologies, such as Quaise Energy’s plan to drill down more than 6 miles to reach temperatures of over 900 degrees Fahrenheit by vaporizing dense rock. While Quaise’s plans are bold, many are skeptical, with Tester saying, “Quaise really hasn’t done a lot in terms of field demonstrations yet. They’ve made some incredible claims, and I’m not even sure that they’ll get there.”
As the world continues to transition towards cleaner energy sources, geothermal energy is poised to play a significant role. With its potential to meet global electricity demand and bipartisan support, it’s an area worth watching closely. As Tester noted, “Perhaps geothermal might be one of the few things that actually survives without serious cuts, because it’s so heavily connected to oil and gas.”