The Western Governors’ Association released a new report, “The Heat Beneath Our Feet” which explores the opportunities to accelerate geothermal energy development and deployment across the West. Colorado Governor Jared Polis, the Chair of Western Governors’ Association focused on geothermal energy during his chairmanship over the last year. The report is a culmination of four workshops and six tours with input from the geothermal industry, policy makers, and other stakeholders.
The report’s recommendations to advance geothermal energy include:
Improve resource assessment and data collection: Increasing federal funding for resource assessments, coordinating efforts to target areas with the greatest potential, improving the federal repository of data relevant to geothermal development, and leveraging data from the oil and gas industry, as well as new technology, will increase our understanding of subsurface resources and foster additional geothermal development.
Mitigate risk in drilling and exploration: Risk and uncertainty contribute to relatively high up-front costs for geothermal development. Those costs can be abated by continuing federal investment to reduce uncertainty in geothermal exploration, exploring models to help developers secure financing for exploratory drilling and mitigate drilling risk, and extending existing tax incentives for the oil and gas industry to include geothermal development. • Optimize permitting and improve regulatory certainty: Permitting timelines can also be prohibitive for geothermal development. Lengthy delays can be mitigated by providing tools and resources to help stakeholders navigate the geothermal development process, increasing agency capacity for leasing and permitting, developing streamlined processes and categorical exclusions for geothermal leasing on par with other energy categories, expanding oil and gas exploration regulatory efficiencies to geothermal development, and collaborating with tribes and communities prior to and during project development. •
Expand funding opportunities: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) funding for demonstration projects and the Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO) should be increased. Investment in energy transition communities should be encouraged.
Implement incentives for consumer adoption: Expedite the deployment of tax incentives, rebates, and enduser applications to spur the adoption of geothermal heating and cooling.
Develop workforce and contractor ecosystem: Geothermal energy can generate good jobs and create opportunities for workers and communities affected by the energy transition. Workforce development in the geothermal industry should be supported, including through the development of training and certification programs.
Increase awareness and education to develop geothermal markets: Develop guidance for policymakers, regulators, and utilities to better promote geothermal energy.