It might be surprising to learn that the U.S. leads the world in geothermal energy — and that production is about to increase.
The U.S. Interior Department recently announced it has approved the Fervo Cape Geothermal Power Project in Beaver County, Utah. This exciting new project, harnessing new geothermal technology, has the capacity to generate two gigawatts of baseload power. That's enough juice to power two million homes, according to the DOI.
Here's how it works.
Water is injected into deep subsurface rock that is already in a superheated state. That water turns to steam, and as it rushes to the surface, it's harnessed to produce energy. Normally, geothermal energy production relies on steam that's already being produced underground.
This method eliminates the need to find permeable rock that's already releasing steam, opening up far more areas for geothermal energy production.
According to the Department of Energy, this method, called an enhanced geothermal system, can tap into areas of superheated rock that are blocked from releasing steam into a traditional geothermal power plant.
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The DOE says as many as 65 million homes and businesses could be powered by enhanced geothermal systems.
This is a huge potential environmental benefit because geothermal energy produces little to no planet-warming gases, releasing only steam into the atmosphere. It's a tremendously exciting form of clean energy.
The Bureau of Land Management is trying to fast-track development of sites like Fervo Cape using a categorical exemption to streamline the process of ramping up clean energy production by speeding up the permitting process on public lands.
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"We need all the tools in the toolbox to reach a clean energy future, and this proposed categorical exclusion will be helpful in accelerating the process of locating new geothermal resources," said BLM director Tracy Stone-Manning.
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As of the end of 2024, the BLM has worked to allow the production of almost 32 gigawatts of power on public lands. That's enough power to light up 14.5 million homes.
But there's more to be discovered.
"Geothermal energy is one of our greatest untapped clean energy resources on public lands," said principal deputy assistant secretary for land and minerals management Dr. Steve Feldgus.
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