- 'Existential challenge': plastic pollution treaty talks begin
- Cavs get 17th win as Celtics edge T-Wolves and Heat burn in OT
- Asian markets begin week on front foot, bitcoin rally stutters
- IOC chief hopeful Sebastian Coe: 'We run risk of losing women's sport'
- K-pop fans take aim at CD, merchandise waste
- Notre Dame inspired Americans' love and help after fire
- Court hearing as parent-killing Menendez brothers bid for freedom
- Closing arguments coming in US-Google antitrust trial on ad tech
- Galaxy hit Minnesota for six, Orlando end Atlanta run
- Left-wing candidate Orsi wins Uruguay presidential election
- High stakes as Bayern host PSG amid European wobbles
- Australia's most decorated Olympian McKeon retires from swimming
- Far-right candidate surprises in Romania elections, setting up run-off with PM
- Left-wing candidate Orsi projected to win Uruguay election
- UAE arrests three after Israeli rabbi killed
- Five days after Bruins firing, Montgomery named NHL Blues coach
- Orlando beat Atlanta in MLS playoffs to set up Red Bulls clash
- American McNealy takes first PGA title with closing birdie
- Sampaoli beaten on Rennes debut as angry fans disrupt Nantes loss
- Chiefs edge Panthers, Lions rip Colts as Dallas stuns Washington
- Uruguayans vote in tight race for president
- Thailand's Jeeno wins LPGA Tour Championship
- 'Crucial week': make-or-break plastic pollution treaty talks begin
- Israel, Hezbollah in heavy exchanges of fire despite EU ceasefire call
- Amorim predicts Man Utd pain as he faces up to huge task
- Basel backs splashing the cash to host Eurovision
- Petrol industry embraces plastics while navigating energy shift
- Italy Davis Cup winner Sinner 'heartbroken' over doping accusations
- Romania PM fends off far-right challenge in presidential first round
- Japan coach Jones abused by 'some clown' on Twickenham return
- Springbok Du Toit named World Player of the Year for second time
- Iran says will hold nuclear talks with France, Germany, UK on Friday
- Mbappe on target as Real Madrid cruise to Leganes win
- Sampaoli beaten on Rennes debut as fans disrupt Nantes loss
- Israel records 250 launches from Lebanon as Hezbollah targets Tel Aviv, south
- Australia coach Schmidt still positive about Lions after Scotland loss
- Man Utd 'confused' and 'afraid' as Ipswich hold Amorim to debut draw
- Sinner completes year to remember as Italy retain Davis Cup
- Climate finance's 'new era' shows new political realities
- Lukaku keeps Napoli top of Serie A with Roma winner
- Man Utd held by Ipswich in Amorim's first match in charge
- 'Gladiator II', 'Wicked' battle for N. American box office honors
- England thrash Japan 59-14 to snap five-match losing streak
- S.Africa's Breyten Breytenbach, writer and anti-apartheid activist
- Concern as climate talks stalls on fossil fuels pledge
- Breyten Breytenbach, writer who challenged apartheid, dies at 85
- Tuipulotu try helps Scotland end Australia's bid for Grand Slam
- Truce called after 82 killed in Pakistan sectarian clashes
- Salah wants Liverpool to pile on misery for Man City after sinking Saints
- Berrettini takes Italy to brink of Davis Cup defence
Dig deep: US bets on geothermal to become renewable powerhouse
Though geothermal represents only a tiny fraction of current US energy production, several businesses and President Joe Biden's administration are betting on technological advances to make it a backbone of the green transition.
"If we can capture that heat beneath our feet, it can be the clean, reliable, baseload-scalable power for everybody from industries to households," Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told the CERAWeek conference in Houston this past week.
Her department estimates that geothermal energy could overtake hydroelectric and solar power in the country by 2050.
Geothermal, which draws on naturally high temperatures underground and is used mainly to produce electricity and heat buildings, amounted to only 1.6 percent of US energy consumption in 2022.
To ramp up production, the US government has invested more than $200 million since 2018 in an experimental site in Utah involving the drilling of exceptionally deep wells -- an approach different from the traditional, near-surface geothermal energy.
Scientists at the site have been testing, in real-world conditions, a technology known as Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS), similar but different from hydraulic fracturing techniques, also known as fracking, which is used to extract oil and natural gas.
The approach involves injecting water into naturally very hot rocks -- often deeper than two miles (3 kilometers), which does not require a nearby hot spring or underground reservoir.
"In theory, you could make geothermal anywhere," said Francesco d'Avack, an analyst with S&P Global Commodity Insights.
"It also reduces the upfront risk," he said -- that is, the risk of drilling and finding nothing, which has been a deterrent for some investors in the past.
Granholm, in her speech to the CERAWeek energy conference, underscored another advantage: the US government is allowing companies to convert permits for oil or gas exploration into geothermal licenses -- reducing paperwork and delays.
In a report this past week, the Energy Department said EGS use fewer chemical additives than classic fracking, a system deplored by environmentalists.
It added that geothermal drilling does not release hydrocarbons, as fracking does.
And unlike solar or wind power, geothermal provides a steady flow of energy regardless of weather or time of day.
- 'A big unlock' -
As for cost, the US government estimates it will drop from a current range of $70 to $100 per megawatt hour (MWh) to $45 by 2035.
The use of existing drilling technology makes geothermal both quicker and cheaper to develop.
"We took the oil and gas operation models, we changed the drill bits a little bit and... we demonstrated a completely new application," said Jigar Shah of the Energy Department's loan office. "That's a big unlock" -- a big leap forward.
"The US has been a first mover" with the new technology, said Ajit Menon, a specialist in subterranean development with Texas-based energy company Baker Hughes, which has invested in geothermal energy.
There are already EGS sites in other countries, notably France, but they're considered experimental.
A possible risk of geothermal drilling projects is that, as with fracking, they can cause seismic activity.
In France's Alsace region, a deep-drilling project was abandoned in 2020 after it provoked several tremors.
The US Energy Department requires all funded projects follow a mitigation protocol to address induced seismicity and is funding research on the issue.
It says no community has felt seismicity occurring near a DOE-funded project.
Several US and Canadian start-ups are vying for position in this budding market and have raised hundreds of millions of dollars from investors.
One of them, Fervo Energy, recently linked its Nevada site to the electric grid. The project was developed in collaboration with Google, which needs huge amounts of electricity for its data centers. So far, though, the site is generating only 3.5 megawatts.
As the geothermal supply begins to grow, demand is following. Google, Microsoft and steel-maker Nucor announced Tuesday that they will jointly be purchasing geothermal energy.
Shah pointed out that the three big firms are "willing to pay a premium" for the energy, and that "gets the private sector excited."
"The new or next generation market is still quite open," said Cindy Taff, CEO of Sage Geosystems, which specializes in subterranean energy. One reason, she said, is that "we need that first commercial facility, and there hasn't been one" yet.
Once one company shows how it can be successfully done, others will follow, she added.
With the sector still so small, "your primary objective is to grow it right," said Menon. "Not only for you -- for everyone."
O.Lorenz--BTB