Hot rocks are so hot right now. Geothermal is making headlines (and amassing billions on the stock market) as a baseload contender to ease the capacity crunch.
But for the hype to meet reality, it’ll take plenty of digging. Right now, geothermal plants contribute less than 1% of total US generation. They’re confined to the West, which hosts the sizzling natural reservoirs that conventional geothermal facilities utilize.
Not your grandma’s geothermal: Now, next-gen tech could bring the energy source to the rest of the country—by, for example, blasting water underground to form artificial reservoirs. As of last June, utilities had inked PPAs for over 1 GW of next-gen geothermal projects.
Meanwhile, some developers are thinking smaller…and harnessing geothermal to heat and cool apartment buildings. A handful of US residential complexes now incorporate closed-loop geothermal systems (which are essentially huge radiators).
How it works: A system of pipes and heat pumps captures (or dumps) heat underground—where temps stay moderate year-long—and controls the climate in the building above.
The frontier: New York City, where closed-loop setups keep cropping up. These include The Riverie, which developer Lendlease says is the country’s biggest residential geothermal system of its kind. The Riverie consists of two towers, which are 37 and 20 stories tall. Beneath them, the geothermal system connects to hundreds of 500-feet-deep boreholes. The building welcomed its first residents in January.
It’s not the only game in town. The Big Apple’s first multi-family geothermal project opened in 2024. The commercial sector is also getting in on the action, including St. Patrick’s Cathedral and a 16-story Manhattan office building.
So, why is Gotham seeing a geothermal boom? According to Layth Madi, senior VP of development at Lendlease, it’s a mix of:
Tech advancements, including safer and less water-intensive drilling
Less permitting red tape
Climate laws and corporate emissions targets
Public- and private-sector financial assistance (Lendlease partnered with NYSERDA and Con Edison on The Riverie)
“We’re finally able to deploy [geothermal] at scale,” Madi told Energy Central. “It’s an old technology that’s fairly low-risk that’s maybe having a second look with a lot of developers.”
Lendlease expects major payoffs with The Riverie. For one, the company estimates a 53% cut in annual carbon emissions from heating and cooling (compared with traditional residential buildings), along with relatively low operating costs.
As more high-rises incorporate closed-loop systems, it begs the question: How high can they go?
“The taller the building is, the less likely geothermal is to help,” said Tristan Schwartzman, director of energy services at engineering firm Goldman Copeland. NYC buildings have relatively small footprints—and the more stories, the more boreholes you need. But you can only cram so many of them in one spot.
The fix: Engineers are working to boost closed-loop systems’ capacity through deeper wells and more efficient heat transfer, Schwartzman told us. But for particularly massive projects, geothermal might work best as a complement to other heating and cooling systems.
What’s next: As more developers eye geothermal, Madi said The Riverie provides living proof that the tech can scale—and offers residents a comfortable experience. “It was certainly challenging in all the right ways,” he said. “I hope other people take it as a case study, and we see more of this.” 🔥