DOE Pushes for Geothermal Energy Expansion, Seeing Potential to Supply Millions of Homes

The Department of Energy is promoting geothermal energy as a clean, renewable power source that could help replace fossil fuels. They project geothermal could supply 4 million households by 2030.

Geothermal energy offers reliable baseload power without emissions. This gives it an advantage over other renewables like wind and solar that rely on technology advances and storage.

The DOE has set cost targets to make geothermal cost competitive, aiming for $70 per MWh by 2030. As the technology improves, they expect demand to greatly increase.

The oil and gas industry sees geothermal as complementary, allowing them to repurpose infrastructure and workforce. Major oil companies are exploring geothermal projects and partnerships.

The DOE has experience using loans and incentives to help scale emerging technologies like solar. They hope to accelerate geothermal's deployment so it can expand rapidly in the next decade.