Are we using enough geothermal energy? Probably not, according to the DOE

Sean Wolfe | Source: Power Engineering | Posted 01/17/2025

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As the demand for power increases in the U.S., driven primarily by data centers and manufacturing, expanding geothermal power production could play an important role.

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The U.S. Department of Energy's ARPA-E announced a $30 million initiative, the SUPERHOT program, aimed at increasing geothermal power production in the U.S. by tapping into "superhot" reservoirs deep within the Earth. By 2040, the program aims to enable the production of 10-20 GW of reliable baseload power at a competitive cost of less than $30 per megawatt hour, to meet the growing demand for power driven by data centers and manufacturing in the country.

The SUPERHOT program focuses on developing technologies for constructing robust super-hot wells and extracting heat from superhot reservoirs, with goals of enabling geothermal wells capable of withstanding superhot conditions and facilitating heat transfer, especially from resources with temperatures exceeding 375 °C and pressures surpassing 22 megapascals. The initiative also aims to address challenges such as lack of commercial equipment for high-temperature handling and the need for advanced materials for geothermal casing, procedures, and designs, which require extensive reliability testing and validation prior to deployment.

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Are we using enough geothermal energy? Probably not, according to the DOE

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