NEWS: The DOE is putting real money behind the “geothermal decade.”

The Department of Energy has selected 21 projects to receive a collective $99M, covering both field-scale tests of next-generation geothermal technologies and drilling to scope out potential geothermal sites. 

Called his shot: DOE Under Secretary of Energy Kyle Haustveit previewed this exact move when he joined Energy Central for a conversation in April.“There’s been niche laboratory work that’s been critical for years,” he said. “Now it’s time to go put those technologies to work” to understand “what it looks like in the field,” he said. 

The stakes: The DOE’s own estimates suggest that, fully tapped, geothermal could produce up to 8.5% of U.S. power (up from less than half a percent today). But getting there requires much more data, Haustveit noted, along with major scaling. According to the DOE, success in these 21 projects will be readily shared with the wider industry: So let’s all watch for the DOE to dig deep on this power source…literally and figuratively.