Overview
- The Department of Energy announced selections on Sept. 21 and opened award negotiations to provide up to $99 million for field-scale tests and exploration drilling across the western United States.
- Five projects were chosen to test enhanced geothermal systems, which use engineered reservoirs to tap hot rock where conventional steam- or water-dominated systems are not available.
- Sixteen projects will fund exploration drilling to characterize promising resources in states such as Nevada, Idaho, Oregon, California, Utah, New Mexico, Alaska, and Washington.
- Named recipients include companies such as Fervo Energy, Quaise Energy, Zanskar Geothermal, XGS Energy and Invenergy and site plans list specific tests like an EGS program in Elmore County, Idaho and a Newberry Volcano demonstration in Oregon.
- DOE will publish all project data in its Geothermal Data Repository to reduce development risk, help attract private investment, and shorten discovery timelines, but selections must finish DOE negotiations before any award is final.