For the first time in years, the U.S. government has leased every parcel of public land offered for geothermal energy — and companies are paying record sums to get in on the action, according to Bloomberg.
Per the Bureau of Land Management, average prices for a geothermal lease jumped 282% to $127 per acre, a big leap from just $33 per acre back in 2024. Energy-hungry data centers, advancing technologies, and the Trump administration's focus on thermal energy have all contributed.
"With the current administration, I think the focus is very much on energy security, energy reliability and energy independence. Geothermal checks all those boxes," Koenraad Beckers, geothermal energy lead at ResFranc, told Bloomberg.
His comment shows why interest is heating up: This once-overlooked energy source is emerging as a smart financial play in the new clean economy.
While it's true that the Trump administration has worked to end incentives for solar and block other clean energy initiatives, it hasn't been shy about promoting geothermal energy, protecting access to tax credits, and noting the need to "prioritize affordable, reliable, and secure energy technologies," according to Energy Secretary Chris Wright, per Bloomberg.
Companies like Alphabet and Meta are already signing deals to power data centers with thermal energy, which draws on the Earth's natural heat to produce steady, around-the-clock electricity. Such reliability makes it attractive to both tech giants and investors betting on long-term growth alike. Sustainability-focused businesses are proving to be a smart bet, as they're outperforming dirty fuel stocks in long-term growth.
New drilling methods are also making geothermal cheaper and easier to deploy. Per Bloomberg, the Rhodium Group projects that next-generation geothermal could meet as much as 64% of new data center energy demand by the early 2030s.
Clean energy, it turns out, is good for business as well as the planet. While there have been some ups and downs across the renewables sector, the long-term momentum has ultimately remained strong.
As more public lands open for development later this year, analysts expect companies to "spend big to secure promising resources," per Bloomberg. With so much energy — and money — on the table, geothermal's time in the spotlight has truly arrived.
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