The US Department of Energy (DOE) has selected 21 projects to receive more than $99 million in funding aimed at accelerating geothermal energy development across the US. The projects will support field-scale testing of next-generation geothermal technologies and exploration drilling programs designed to characterize and confirm promising geothermal resources.
According to the DOE, the awards target two critical areas of geothermal development: enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) demonstrations and resource exploration efforts. The agency said the initiative is intended to reduce technical and development risks while expanding access to reliable, domestic energy resources capable of delivering around-the-clock power.
“These projects will empower American innovators to unlock the tremendous geothermal resources beneath our feet,” DOE Under Secretary of Energy Kyle Haustveit said in the 21 September announcement. “We’re advancing next-generation geothermal technologies that can lower costs, strengthen American energy dominance, and turn more of our vast domestic geothermal resources into reliable and affordable power.”
Five Projects Selected for Field-Scale EGS Testing
Five projects received funding to conduct field-scale EGS demonstrations designed to validate technologies under commercial-scale operating conditions.
Fervo Energy will drill, complete, and stimulate EGS wells in Idaho's Elmore County. The project includes deployment of what is described as the “first-ever” high-temperature three-component geophone array operating at temperatures of 200°C or higher, along with advanced seismic and geochemical analyses conducted with national laboratory partners.
Zanskar Geothermal and Minerals plans to design, drill, and hydraulically stimulate a short-lateral horizontal injection well at the Lightning Dock geothermal field in Hidalgo County, New Mexico. The project aims to provide pressure support to an actively producing hydrothermal reservoir while extracting heat from impermeable, hot rock in the vicinity of the hydrothermal system.
AlterG Resources will evaluate EGS performance in Pershing and Churchill counties in Nevada using a deep horizontal well pair and a comparative hydraulic stimulation program testing plug-and-perf and sliding-sleeve completion methods.
The University of Utah will design, drill, stimulate, and operate an EGS doublet at the Dixie Valley West geothermal field in Nevada. Researchers aim to demonstrate that engineered reservoirs developed adjacent to existing hydrothermal systems can deliver sustained circulation, improved permeability, and commercially relevant heat production.
Quaise Energy will conduct a field-scale EGS demonstration on the southern flank of Oregon's Newberry Volcano, where bottomhole temperatures are expected to range from 265°C to 365°C, conditions that exceed the temperature range for which many conventional EGS tools and materials have been validated.
Exploration Drilling Represents Largest Funding Category
The remaining 16 projects focus on exploration drilling programs that will gather subsurface data needed to evaluate next-generation and conventional hydrothermal geothermal resources.
Among the recipients, Davinci EP LLC will drill and test paired horizontal geothermal confirmation wells in California's Brawley Known Geothermal Resource Area. Fervo Energy will undertake an appraisal campaign in Nevada's Humboldt County targeting reservoir temperatures between 200°C and 220°C.
Several projects seek to apply technologies familiar to the oil and gas sector. For example, Zanskar Geothermal and Minerals plans to use directional drilling from a single pad combined with logging-while-drilling technologies, while TLS Geothermics Corp. will deploy polycrystalline diamond compact drill bits in crystalline rock formations.
Other award recipients include GreenFire Energy, XGS Energy, Hexagon Energy, GeoAlaska, Invenergy Geothermal Development, and Oriah Geothermal, among others, with projects spanning California, Nevada, Utah, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Alaska, and New Mexico.
The portfolio includes drilling of exploratory wells, reservoir characterization programs, thermal-gradient investigations, resource confirmation wells, and re-entry of existing geothermal wells to assess untapped geothermal potential.
Public Data Release Planned
DOE said all data generated through the projects will be made publicly available through the agency's Geothermal Data Repository. The information will include results from field tests and exploration activities, enabling industry participants, researchers, and developers to leverage findings beyond individual project sites.
By making the data publicly accessible, DOE expects the program to support future geothermal exploration efforts, technology development, and commercial project planning across the sector.