Bill Gates on geothermal energy: Utah’s hottest new power source is 15,000 ft. below the ground. Really!

Sorry, Bill Gates is wrong! Geothermal power is another pipe dream like wind power! And it is not clean either! At large scale (e.g. every country starts to drill) what would be the environmental impact? Cooling our planet?

Maybe it could become a complementary component of the energy supply mix.

How the oil and gas industry can unlock endless Geothermal energy. Really!

What a pipedream! What about seismic risks! Costs are high! How many holes can you drill deep into the earth?

Drilling the deepest hole in history up to 20 km deep: Unlocking geothermal energy

This article (MIT) possibly makes outrageous claims, but it also contains a historical review of deep drilling projects.

I just wrote a critical blog post about geothermal energy here.

"MIT spin-off Quaise is trying to use hijacked fusion technology to drill some of the deepest holes in history, unlocking clean, virtually limitless, supercritical geothermal energy that can re-power fossil-fueled power plants all over the world. But how does it work? And are they even close to realizing their vision? ...

Where there's access to heat, there's harvestable geothermal energy. And there's so much heat below the Earth's surface ... that tapping just 0.1% of it could supply the entire world's energy needs for more than 20 million years. ...

The company has raised some US$105 million to date, and it looks to raise another $200 million to get to its first commercial power plant.

Quaise plans to drill holes up to 20 km (12.4 miles) deep, significantly deeper than the Kola Superdeep Borehole – but where the Kola team took nearly 20 years to reach their limit, Quaise expects its gyrotron-enhanced process to take just 100 days. And that's assuming a 1-MW gyrotron.

Quaise's hybrid ultra-deep drilling rig will combine conventional rotary drilling with gyrotron-powered mm-wave directed energy drilling, pressure-purged with electromagnetically-transparent argon gas. ..."

Drilling the deepest hole in history: Unlocking geothermal energy (this is an updated, older article)

Quaise's hybrid ultra-deep drilling rig will combine conventional rotary drilling with gyrotron-powered mm-wave directed energy drilling, pressure-purged with electromagnetically-transparent argon gas

Why enhanced geothermal systems could be a game-changer for clean energy. Really!

After so called clean [???], renewable energy, i.e. wind and solar power, geothermal energy seems to be next.

What happens when geothermal energy is to be exploited large scale? Are we then accelerating the cooling off the interior of our Earth?

"... Because conventional geothermal power plants require hot, permeable rocks and plenty of underground fluid, use of the technology has been limited mostly to places with recent volcanism, such as Japan, New Zealand, the Philippines, Kenya, El Salvador, Iceland, and the western United States.

Over the past 50 years, however, techniques originally developed for oilfields and adapted for “enhanced geothermal systems” (EGS) have offered the promise of tapping deep reserves of natural heat across a broader swath of the planet. ...

To date, nearly all EGS applications have been for research purposes in one-off, small-scale plants ... team of authors to write a review paper for the February 2025 issue of Nature Reviews Clean Technology about EGS and its potential to supply energy at a larger scale. ..."

From the abstract:

"Geothermal energy provides clean, steady and renewable electricity and heat, but the use of geothermal energy has conventionally been constrained to locations with adequate subsurface heat and fluid flow.

Enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) enable geothermal energy usage in unconventional areas by enhancing the subsurface permeability and increasing fluid flow, which is then extracted as a carrier of the thermal energy. In this Review, we discuss the development of EGS and its role in providing energy. Some EGS are operating commercially in Europe and provide heat and/or electricity, but technical issues and concerns over induced seismicity have historically hindered the broader expansion of EGS.

Adaptation of advanced drilling techniques (including the use of polycrystalline diamond compact bits, multiwell drilling pads, horizontal drilling and multistage stimulation) is enabling an increase in scale and decrease in cost of EGS projects. As a result, in the USA, enhanced geothermal is expected to achieve plant capital costs (US$4,500 kW−1) and a levelized cost of electricity (US$80 MWh−1) that are competitive with market electricity prices by 2027. With further development of EGS to manage induced seismicity risk and increase system flexibility, EGS could provide stable baseload and potentially dispatchable electricity in clean energy systems."

Why enhanced geothermal systems could be a game-changer for clean energy | Stanford Report "According to researchers, electricity from natural underground heat could become cost-competitive with grid power by 2027 using EGS, though care is needed to address earthquake risks."

Enhanced geothermal systems for clean firm energy generation (open access)

Fig. 1: Enhanced geothermal systems.

Fig. 2: Three adjacent geothermal systems.

Ultra-deep fracking for limitless geothermal power is possible: EPFL. Really!

Don't believe any nonsense like this regarding geothermal power! This is reckless and irresponsible overpromising!

Geothermal power is no panacea either! The negative environmental impact (e.g. anthropogenic earthquakes) of large scale exploitation or utilization of this power source are yet unknown, but can be presumed to be significant. Just the necessary use of large quantities of (supercritical) water could already pose issues. Of course, geothermal power could become a part of an energy supply mix.

The quoted research itself nor any of the researchers involved do not make any such outlandish promises!

This study by EPFL also relies heavy on modeling and not on hard empirical evidence. Keep that in mind too!

"... By tapping into the enormous heat of the Earth's interior, it's theoretically possible to extract enough clean power to meet all humanity's energy needs for millions of years to come, solving the biggest challenge of climate change more or less overnight. ..."

"... The deepest hole in the world is on the Kola Peninsula in Russia, and extends 12 kilometers – yet that’s less than 25% of the average depth of the continental crust. And even though geologists have been able to dig that far, it’s nearly impossible to take measurements at such depths. That’s why many scientists are working to replicate the conditions inside their research labs. ..."

From the abstract:

"Geothermal projects utilizing supercritical water (≥400 °C) could boost power output tenfold compared to conventional plants. However, these reservoirs commonly occur in crustal areas where rocks are semi-ductile or ductile, impeding large-scale fractures and cracking, and where hydraulic properties are largely unknown. Here, we explore the complex permeability of rocks under supercritical conditions using mechanical data from a gas-based triaxial apparatus, high-resolution synchrotron post-mortem 3D imagery, and finite element modeling. We report a first order control of strain partitioning on permeability. In the brittle regime, strain localizes on permeable faults without necessarily increasing sample apparent permeability. In the semi-ductile regime, distributed strain increases permeability both in deformation bands and the bulk, leading to a more than tenfold permeability increase. This study challenges the belief that the brittle-ductile transition (BDT) marks a cutoff for fluid circulation in the crust, demonstrating that permeability can develop in deforming semi-ductile rocks."

Ultra-deep fracking for limitless geothermal power is possible: EPFL

Scientists explore the complexity of rocks within the Earth's crust (original news release) "A team of EPFL scientists has provided insight into the mechanisms at work in geothermal reservoirs located deep underground, known as supercritical reservoirs. Through a combination of computer simulations and lab experiments, they showed that rocks located between five and eight kilometers deep in the Earth’s crust are also permeable to fluids."

Fig. 2: 3D rendering of the XCT images and isolated cracks of the brittle and semi-ductile specimens.

Iceland's vertical farm turning algae into food

Very recommendable! Is this the future of agriculture and food? Using geothermal energy?

The Untapped Potential of inexhaustible Geothermal Energy. Really!

If it sounds to be too good to be true ... Beware of the snake oil salesperson!

I bet, if geothermal energy was exploited large scale to serve millions or even hundreds of millions of people then we will quickly learn what the issues are. Cooling off earth faster than normal most likely has detrimental effects! Not to mention the costs involved for the transition to this new energy source.

"“Geothermal power, capable of delivering clean, inexhaustible power will simply be a global game-changer when fully unlocked. The perfect source of base load power to complement solar and wind resources, which are growing in number, but suffer from intermittency. ...

to develop what may become the Earth’s most important source of power.”"

The Untapped Potential of Geothermal Energy - Human Progress A deep dive into why geothermal may be the key to energy abundance.

BLM adopts categorical exclusions to expedite geothermal energy permitting. Really!

I bet, geothermal energy is another pipe dream like wind power!

If it was exploited and a large scale and around the world what would be the environmental and other consequences?

Using abundant geothermal energy in Iceland is probably OK, but in the U.S.?

"... “Geothermal energy is one of the technologies that can move our country toward a clean energy future [???],” said BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning. ...
The categorical exclusions adopted today apply only to geothermal exploration operations on public land. ...

Replenished by heat sources deep in the Earth, geothermal energy generates baseload electricity with minimal carbon emissions. It is abundant especially in the West, where the BLM has authority to manage geothermal leasing on approximately 245 million acres of public lands (and another 104 million acres of U.S. Forest Service lands). Geothermal energy is also used to heat buildings and operate greenhouses and aquaculture operations."

BLM adopts categorical exclusions to expedite geothermal energy permitting | Bureau of Land Management

Credits: Human Progress Weekly Progress Roundup

MIT: Underground thermal energy networks are becoming crucial to the US’s energy future. Really!

I have serious doubts whether thermal energy at large scale would not cause serious damages to our earth and the environment. Artificially cooling the earth's crust is probably a very bad idea.

The Global Warming hoax and the Climate Change religion begets some desperate and irrational measures.

"Thirteen US states are now implementing underground thermal energy networks to reduce buildings’ carbon emissions [???] as part of a nationwide push to adopt cleaner [???] energy sources. ...

When installed, these networks can provide efficient, fossil fuel-free heating and cooling to commercial and residential buildings. Thanks to legislative backing and widespread support from utility companies and labor unions they’re likely to become an increasingly significant part of the future energy mix in the US.  ..."

Underground thermal energy networks are becoming crucial to the US’s energy future | MIT Technology Review Their advantages extend beyond reducing carbon emissions.

Startup makes breakthrough in geothermal power technology. Really!

Most likely exploiting geothermal energy on a large scale is damaging to our planet! What are the negative consequences of forcefully cooling the interior of our planet? Could well become another manmade disaster!

Caution should be the modus operandi when it comes to large scale energy production involving geothermal energy. 

Perhaps, the active volcanic Nordic island of Iceland famously could do that successfully over decades if not centuries without serious repercussions. However, this country has today less than 400,000 inhabitants. It sits on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

"A startup based in Texas has announced a key milestone in geothermal energy. This new technology could finally bring large-scale geothermal energy to the masses [???]. The company, Fervo Energy, successfully completed a 30-day test at its pilot plant in Nevada. The team drilled 2.3 kilometers into the Earth’s surface in order to pump water and obtain clean energy reliably. ..."

Startup makes breakthrough in geothermal power technology (This article is an example of junk journalism) It's a clean energy source [???] with a lot of potential that hasn't been exploited yet.

Tiefengeothermie: Ist Wärme aus der Tiefe eine Lösung für nachhaltige Energieversorgung?

Habe erhebliche Zweifel, ob die Ausbeutung der Tiefengeothermie im großen Maßstab harmlos ist! 

Der Klimawahn in der Bananenrepublik D. gebiert seltsame, wenn nicht sogar gefährliche Ideen! Als ob nicht tausende Windmühlen schlimm genug sind!

Tiefengeothermie: Ist Wärme aus der Tiefe eine Lösung für nachhaltige Energieversorgung? - ingenieur.de Tiefengeothermie kann in Zukunft mindestens ein Viertel des jährlichen Wärmebedarfs in Deutschland decken [???] – zu diesem Ergebnis kommen Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft und Fraunhofer Gesellschaft. Grund genug, uns einmal etwas näher mit den Möglichkeiten der im tiefen Untergrund gespeicherten Erdwärme zu beschäftigen.

MIT: Tapping into the million-year geothermal energy source. Really!

They keep looking for renewable green energy everywhere!

I don't think this is a realistic source of energy on a large scale (e.g. serving millions of customers). How costly is this form of energy generation? How environmentally is it? What will be the damage to earth if scaled up? How many wholes need to be drilled and how deep?

This sounds more like a plea for government subsidies to finance a dubious energy source!

"... a research engineer in MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center, notes ... Using an approach he’s been working on for the last 14 years, he’s hoping it will be back online, completely carbon-free [???], within the decade. ...

The company plans to vaporize enough rock to create the world’s deepest holes and harvest geothermal energy at a scale that could satisfy human energy consumption for millions of years. They haven’t yet solved all the related engineering challenges, ... to begin harvesting energy from a pilot well by 2026.

... But Quaise’s drilling systems center around a microwave-emitting device called a gyrotron that has been used in research and manufacturing for decades.

“This will happen quickly once we solve the immediate engineering problems of transmitting a clean beam and having it operate at a high energy density without breakdown ..."

Tapping into the million-year energy source below our feet | MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT spinout Quaise Energy is working to create geothermal wells made from the deepest holes in the world.

U.S. Government: Geothermal explained