Big Oil partners with clean energy to advance geothermal energy

Major oil companies are joining forces with startups and scientists to use oil industry technology to accelerate geothermal energy, which could become a key source of clean, on-demand power.

Saul Elbein reports for The Hill.

In short:

• Oil companies and startups in Houston are exploring ways to apply oil drilling technology to geothermal energy production.
• The Department of Energy projects geothermal could power 260 million homes by midcentury with the right investments.
• The new Geothermal Energy from Oil and Gas Demonstrated Engineering (GEODE) consortium aims to tackle barriers to scaling geothermal, including financing and technical challenges.

Key quote:

“There’s a lot of technical resources in the oil and gas industry that can be systematically applied to the geothermal sector.”

— Tim Latimer, CEO of Fervo Energy

Why this matters:

Geothermal energy could play a vital role in the shift to renewable energy by providing consistent, zero-carbon electricity. Collaboration between the oil industry and clean energy startups could accelerate breakthroughs needed to overcome current technical and financial obstacles.

Related EHN coverage:

• New geothermal systems may be key to sustainable buildings
• Networked geothermal systems could transform urban energy use
• Investment in clean energy to overtake fossil fuel spending in 2024