Chuck Darwin<p>US aiming to ‘crack the code’ on deploying geothermal energy at scale </p><p>A limitless supply of heat exists beneath our feet within the Earth’s crust, but harnessing it at scale has proved challenging. <br>Now, a combination of new techniques, government support and the pressing need to secure <a href="https://c.im/tags/continuous" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>continuous</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/clean" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>clean</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/power" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>power</span></a> in an era of climate crisis means that geothermal energy is finally having its moment in the US.<br>Until recently, <a href="https://c.im/tags/geothermal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>geothermal</span></a> has only been viable where the Earth’s inner heat simmers near the surface, such as at hot springs or geysers where hot water or steam can be easily drawn to drive turbines and generate electricity.</p><p>While this has allowed a limited number of places, like Iceland, to use geothermal as a main source of heating and electricity, it has only been a niche presence in the US, providing less than 1% of its electricity. </p><p>But this could change dramatically, offering the promise of endless, 24/7 clean energy that can fill in the gaps of intermittent solar and wind generation in the electricity grid.</p><p>“Geothermal has been used for over 100 years, limited to certain geographic locations<br> – but that is now changing,” said Amanda Kolker, the geothermal laboratory program manager at the <a href="https://c.im/tags/National" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>National</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Renewable" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Renewable</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Energy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Energy</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Laboratory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Laboratory</span></a> (NREL).<br>“As we penetrate the grid with renewables that are not available all the time, we need to find a base load, which is currently taken up by gas. There aren’t really many options for <a href="https://c.im/tags/zero" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>zero</span></a>-<a href="https://c.im/tags/emissions" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>emissions</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/base" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>base</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/load" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>load</span></a> power, which is why geothermal is entering the picture.”</p><p>Geothermal capacity could<br>💥 increase 20-fold by 2050, 💥<br>👉generating 10% of the US’s electricity, according to a recent road map released by the US Department of Energy. <br>Joe Biden’s administration has also funded 👍new projects aimed at pushing forward the next generation of geothermal 👍that aim to make the energy source available anywhere on America’s landmass, not just easy-to-reach hot springs.</p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/apr/02/geothermal-energy-electricity?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">theguardian.com/environment/20</span><span class="invisible">24/apr/02/geothermal-energy-electricity?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other</span></a></p>