Energy Department Offers $10 Million to Speed Enhanced Geothermal Systems

The Energy Department on February 24 announced $10 million to enhance subsurface characterization for enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) by developing state-of-the-art methods that quantify critical underground reservoir properties as they change over time. New methods to access engineered reservoirs will speed the deployment of this next-generation geothermal technology and support geothermal energy's continued role in the U.S. clean energy mix. To generate baseload renewable power, EGS plans capture power from intensely hot rocks, buried thousands of feet below the surface, that lack the permeability or fluid saturation found in naturally occurring geothermal systems. The U.S.G.S. has estimated this vast, untapped thermal resource is between 100 and 500 gigawatts, enough to power millions of American homes.

This backing will support up to ten three-year collaborative research and development plans focused on applying innovative technologies to obtain and process high-precision data to better target and explore potential EGS sites. The Department looks for research that analyzes physical and chemical conditions to optimize subsurface engineering and stimulation methods and helps define the development and sustainability of a reservoir during long-term operations. Awards will be structured in 2 phases, with initial work focused on proving the concepts of the suggested methodology and subsequent phases dedicated to prototyping and field validation. See the Energy Department news release.

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