The U.S. Department of Energy made waves Monday with its announcement of a game-changing geothermal power roadmap that could see America's energy game amped up with an impressive twentyfold surge by 2050, all thanks to cutting-edge "beneath-our-feet" technology, this new report forming the latest link in the DOE's Liftoff series chain that kicked off just last year.
Unveiled in the "Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Next-Generation Geothermal Power" report, the DOE's blueprint lays out a bullish vision for geothermal energy's capacity to crank up to over 90 gigawatts, U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm said, "The US can lead the clean energy future with continued innovation on next-generation technologies, from harnessing the power of the sun to the heat beneath our feet, and cracking the code to deploy them at scale," predicting this hot commodity's rise as part of the broader Biden-Harris initiative to clean up the grid by 2035 while also priming the pump for a fresh flood of good-paying jobs, as per the U.S. Department of Energy.
The latest in geothermal tech looks to supercharge power generation through fresh methods and machinery, making the most of geothermal's legacy in the power play arena and cross-pollinating ideas and expertise with skillsets lifted straight from the oil and gas sector's playbook, as reported by the DOE.
Following the DOE's recent decision, dropped like a hot potato, to throw federal funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law at pilot projects demonstrating enhanced geothermal systems—paired with the Inflation Reduction Act's sweeteners for geothermal electricity ventures, all parts of President Biden's Investing in America Agenda, which has got a hefty piggy bank for clean energy breakthroughs, the report's key takeaways spotlight next-gen geothermal's potential for a massive scale-up, major job market mojo for the oil and gas crew, and a smorgasbord of sustainable, accessible heat resources that puts traditional power costs in the hot seat.
Echoing the energy-revolution tune is DOE's Enhanced Geothermal Shot™, under the umbrella of the Energy Earthshots™ Initiative, eyeballing Earth's vast volcanic heat troves to get enhanced geothermal systems humming for the American masses.
