The Western Governors’ Association is urging bipartisan congressional passage of a geothermal act that would streamline the often laborious and uncertain permitting process to open up the carbon free energy potential in the West.
Utah is the among the top three U.S. generators of utility scale geothermal energy, following California and Nevada in developing what is called “the heat beneath your feet,” to tap reservoirs of the Earth’s red-hot core. That geothermal heat generates steam to turn turbines to produce electricity.
The U.S. Department of Energy says geothermal power plants produce electricity consistently and can run essentially 24 hours per day, seven days per week, regardless of weather conditions. They can also ramp generation up or down to respond to changes in electricity demand.
“Western states already lead the nation in energy production from a wide range of sources, and, given that the vast majority of high-yield geothermal energy capacity in the United States is in the West, are poised to lead in geothermal energy development as well,” read the letter signed by the chair of the Western Governors’ Association, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, D-New Mexico, and its vice chair, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, R-Utah. “By addressing some of the obstacles to its development, this bill would help unlock the potential of geothermal energy.”
According to the association, geothermal was the first type of renewable energy approved for production on public lands by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management — the first project was approved in 1978. Today, 51 geothermal power plants operate on BLM-managed lands, producing a combined 2.6 gigawatts of electricity.
The holy grail of energy?
When U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm toured a University of Utah building tapping geothermal energy, she said its potential was enormous, labeling it the “holy grail” of energy.
According to that agency’s Next-Generation Geothermal Power Commercial Liftoff Report, geothermal power generation has the potential to generate more than 100 gigawatts of power by 2050.
Enhanced geothermal systems, or EGS, expand geothermal resource potential to 5,500 gigawatts distributed across much of the country and remove the need to search for unique geologic environments by using subsurface engineering technologies already leveraged by the oil and gas industry, according to the report.
It underscored the success of Utah’s FORGE project in Beaver County, where drilling speeds at the DOE’s demonstration site improved by over 500% in three years, and well development costs decreased from $13 million to under $5 million per well between the first two large-scale commercial EGS pilots in the United States.
The first field-scale closed loop demonstration project was completed in 2022, and a closed loop commercial pilot in Germany is anticipated to be completed in 2028.
Developing the enhanced geothermal systems solves a geographic problem. The DOE said there is about 40 gigawatts of estimated conventional geothermal resource in the United States, but only 25% of that estimated resource has been located. Next-generation geothermal technologies expand geothermal resource potential across much of the country and remove the need to search for unique geologic environments, the agency said.
To help tap this energy, the Western Governors’ Association has advocated for streamlined permitting processes via the Geothermal Energy Optimization Act. The letter announced Thursday was in correspondence with the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
“Geothermal projects, as with all energy development, are often hindered by inefficient permitting processes,” the letter read. “Western Governors believe these review processes can be improved and streamlined while still providing meaningful opportunities for public input and promoting a safe and healthy environment for our citizens.”
The need for permitting reform has been pushed heavily in Congress as energy demand ramps up across the country.
Geothermal Rising, an advocate for the industry and trade association, said operators spent years on technical due diligence within the acres nominated, allocating significant time and capital to researching and generating the potential prospects. Additionally, the operators have planned capital expenditures in 2023 and 2024 for surveys and exploration drilling activities within the nominated acres. But the permitting and lease sales have been fraught with delays in Utah.
This month, the BLM in Utah did announce a geothermal lease sale in December for 6,061 acres in Beaver and Millard counties.
“Geothermal is a renewable energy resource abundant in the West that can be used to heat buildings, operate greenhouses and support aquaculture operations with minimal emissions,” said deputy state director of fluid and minerals Christina Price. “Sites are selected for renewable energy development following an environmental assessment, which identifies appropriate stipulations to protect endangered species and cultural resources that may occur within the general area.”