How the Next-Generation Geothermal Research and Development Act advances superhot rock geothermal and helps drive down costs for faster deployment
Superhot rock geothermal can become a key contributor to the energy mix, enabling abundant, affordable, zero-carbon baseload energy anytime, anywhere. However, while next-generation geothermal can help meet growing energy demand, support grid resilience, and provide good-paying jobs, public support is necessary for it to reach commercial scale and achieve the cost reductions needed to compete in global unsubsidized electricity markets. Congress is currently working on bipartisan legislation that represents a critical step to realizing that potential: the Next-Generation Geothermal Research and Development Act (S.4406), introduced by Senators Murkowski and Cortez Masto.
This legislation addresses four topics that CATF identified as critical to enabling supercritical geothermal energy to help meet rapidly growing global demand for reliable, 24/7 low-carbon power: field testing and demonstrations, targeted R&D, collaboration, and improved access to subsurface data such as temperature gradient and rock properties. Strengthening these capabilities in the United States will help ensure the country is positioned to supply that power domestically, supporting communities and innovative new industries with dependable energy when they need it.
Expands opportunities for field testing and demonstrations
Perhaps most critical, S.4406 expands opportunities for in-field testing and demonstration. CATF’s research clearly indicates that regardless of technology area, the most important action that can be taken to advance supercritical geothermal technologies toward market readiness is providing opportunities for testing in realistic environments and end-to-end demonstration in the field. When technologies can be tested in the field, they become investable.
Specifically, the bill expands the remit of Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy (FORGE) to test next-generation geothermal technologies in supercritical environments. Since its establishment by the Department of Energy in 2014, FORGE has had an enormous impact on next-generation geothermal technologies. Just next door to FORGE’s flagship Utah testbed, Fervo Energy broke ground on its Cape Station project, a privately funded project that is on track to deliver 500 MW of 24/7 carbon-free electricity to the grid by 2028.
This clearly illustrates that public investment can work quickly to create momentum for private industry. Expanding the remit of FORGE to test in supercritical environments would help the geothermal industry advance critical technologies, derisk supercritical geothermal projects, and accelerate the cost reductions required for next-generation geothermal to compete at scale in global unsubsidized electricity markets.
Establishes a targeted research and development program
Research, development, and testing within a specified program enables both publicly- and privately driven technology advancement that will help bridge the commercialization gap for supercritical geothermal. The public sector is well-positioned to take on this R&D challenge, but without a program tasked specifically with pursuing supercritical technology development, federal-level research on supercritical geothermal is at risk of stagnation. This research program could also enhance the durability of lower-temperature geothermal technologies, reducing their costs and improving their ability to function in a wider range of subsurface environments. Finally, federal-level R&D creates an opportunity for currently disconnected efforts to coordinate and stay aligned with ongoing work.
This legislation lays out a clear structure for the Department of Energy (DOE) to establish a vertically integrated ecosystem of R&D, which would break down research silos and help share learnings across stakeholders throughout the technology development process. This aligns with DOE’s Pathways to Next-Generation Geothermal Commercial Liftoff report. Through its extensive research, CATF has identified that high-impact R&D should include deep drilling, well construction and completion, and reservoir engineering. This is reflected in the structure of the R&D program defined in S.4406, which includes a research, development, and demonstration program focused on well completion, reservoir creation and management (drilling, casing, proppants, packers), materials development, equipment design, sensor development, water-rock geochemistry, rock properties, and hard rock and deep drilling. The bill also includes a commercial readiness grant program, which would help reduce costs for technologies which are already at or near commercial scale but at high costs – this includes hardrock drilling equipment, reservoir characterization and completions, and data acquisition and sensing tools. Finally, the bill has a surface facility grant program to work on topics such as electricity production equipment, working fluids, condensers, and other component and facility designs that are crucial for geothermal development. By defining specific research targets, the bill ensures that federal effort is focused on the most critical gaps in research, development, and testing.
Strengthens public-private collaboration
Research organizations, startups, service companies, and national labs across the U.S. have all made major strides in geothermal innovation. Achieving commercialization of supercritical geothermal will be the result of a series of technology innovations in numerous areas, including drilling, stimulation, well completion, power production, and more. Yet far too often, geothermal innovation stakeholders work in isolation. Next-generation geothermal will develop more quickly and efficiently if there is collaboration between stakeholders at every level, including international allies, government agencies, academic institutions, and private companies.
This legislation establishes a next-generation geothermal center of excellence to support public-private collaboration on workforce training, the development of best practices, technical assistance for agencies, and testing for next-generation geothermal technologies. Importantly, the center is designed to help coordinate next-generation geothermal research across the national laboratory system and field testing environments—aligning priorities, synchronizing testing activities, and ensuring that progress is intentional rather than fragmented. By supporting shared best practices and communication across the technology development ecosystem, the center would help improve the safety, performance, and cost-competitiveness of next-generation geothermal technologies. The legislation also requires biannual progress reports on barriers to commercialization, helping ensure that activities under this framework evolve alongside advances in the technology and understanding of the resource.
Reduces exploration risk by improving access to subsurface data
Data is a valuable resource for geothermal development, and access to subsurface data is critical for helping companies optimize development and reduce technological risk through well-informed drilling programs. Though there are existing data repositories at both the federal and state levels, they need to be better organized, centralized, and more widely accessible. Additional national-scale deep exploration and heat mapping can help identify new regions where geothermal can be developed. That expands where projects can be built and helps make geothermal a solution across the country – beyond just a few Western states.
Improvement of these resources could be impactful beyond just geothermal; other industries, like mining, oil and gas, and carbon management, would also benefit from a better understanding of challenges and resource opportunities in the U.S. subsurface.
This bill supports collaboration between the DOE and the Department of the Interior (DOI) in the expansion and improvement of data resources. The bill commissions the drilling of deep exploration boreholes in diverse geological provinces, and it directs the U.S. Geological Survey to complete quadrennial reporting on geothermal resource potential, explicitly taking into account the potential of supercritical geothermal. These measures would support comprehensive mapping in regions of the U.S. that historically have not had access to geothermal exploration. Next-generation geothermal is viable in many locations where older forms of geothermal were not, and this bill works to advance knowledge of where geothermal could be deployed now and in the future. The bill also includes a memorandum of understanding among DOE, DOI, and other relevant agencies for notifying, sharing, and providing opportunities for data collection and a study on water use in geothermal systems.
The role of public sector funding
Costs for first-of-a-kind next-generation geothermal projects are currently above market prices in most regions, but are dropping quickly, and large private-sector energy players are beginning to position themselves for investment as costs and uncertainty continue to fall. However, reaching that level of cost and performance will require continued research, testing, and collaboration. The public sector is uniquely positioned to take on technological risks and bridge the gap between research and deployment, while clear federal support signals to investors that the industry is expected to play a meaningful role in the future U.S. energy mix. But to achieve S.4406’s goals, more investment is needed.
The scope of activities envisioned in S.4406, including research programs, a center of excellence, and expanded field testing opportunities, will require sustained support. Ensuring adequate resources for these efforts will be critical to translating the legislation’s strong framework into meaningful progress in next-generation geothermal technology; CATF will provide additional analysis on this topic in a future blog post.
The Next-Generation Geothermal Research and Development Act is a step in the right direction
A diverse array of energy solutions will be required to empower an affordable, low-carbon economy, especially in a time of growing energy demand. Proactively investing in emerging energy solutions like next-generation geothermal can ensure that U.S. communities and innovative new industries have the energy they need when they need it.
The passage of the Next-Generation Geothermal Research and Development Act is an important step in advancing next-generation geothermal technologies, particularly at supercritical temperatures. Investing in these technology innovations can advance U.S. leadership while meeting the increasing demand for clean baseload power over the coming decade. S.4406 takes a much-needed step towards this future by advancing emerging technologies to higher temperatures, higher power potential, lower costs, and greater potential for global scalability.
