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News
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LCG, February 19, 2026--The EIA released an "in-brief analysis" today regarding the expected completion of the first, large-scale commercial enhanced geothermal system (EGS) in June 2026, and the significant growth potential for year-round, 24x7, carbon-free, renewable EGS power generation in the United States.
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LCG, February 12, 2026--Hydrostor today announced that the Willow Rock Energy Storage Center has signed a 50 MW offtake agreement with California Community Power (CC Power) on behalf of six of its community choice aggregator members: CleanPowerSF, Peninsula Clean Energy, Redwood Coast Energy Authority, San Jose Clean Energy, Silicon Valley Clean Energy Authority and Valley Clean Energy Authority.
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Industry News
Enhanced Geothermal Systems May Drive Significant Growth in Geothermal Power Generation
LCG, February 19, 2026--The EIA released an "in-brief analysis" today regarding the expected completion of the first, large-scale commercial enhanced geothermal system (EGS) in June 2026, and the significant growth potential for year-round, 24x7, carbon-free, renewable EGS power generation in the United States.
Geothermal power generation uses high-temperature hydrothermal resources to power turbines to generate electricity. Unlike intermittent solar and wind, geothermal can provide 24x7 base load power. Conventional geothermal systems use hot water or steam pumped from naturally occurring hydrothermal reservoirs that are trapped in underground permeable and porous rock formations. These hydrothermal reservoirs are only found in limited locations, typically near tectonic plate boundaries or volcanic hotspots.
EGS creates hydrothermal reservoirs where they don't naturally exist by using newer drilling technologies developed for upstream oil and natural gas production, e.g., horizontal drilling and fracking. Successful pilot projects have demonstrated that man-made hydrothermal wells can help EGS technology (i) further expand current geothermal power generation at existing sites and (ii) place geothermal generators throughout the United States instead of only at limited locations in western states.
EIA's national assessment is that the U.S. currently has a total summer capacity of 2.7 GW of conventional geothermal power, representing just 0.2 percent of summer generating capacity. (Summer capacity is the maximum output that generating equipment can supply to system load at the time of summer peak demand.) The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) estimates that 135 GW of potential electric-power generation is available from EGS in the Great Basin of the Southwest alone. To put the 135 GW of EGS capacity in context, the nation's current nuclear capacity is about 98 GW, and nuclear power accounts for nearly 20 percent of the nation's annual electricity generated.
The EIA referenced other studies that estimated similar, long-term potential growth in EGS generation. In 2023, the National Laboratory of the Rockies estimated that 90 GW of EGS capacity could be economically built across the country by 2050. Other studies projected up to 150 GW of cost-effective geothermal power generation could be operating using EGS in the coming decades.
A key challenge for EGS and conventional geothermal power development is to overcome the elevated capital cost, particularly for well construction. Mitigating the risks of induced seismicity (man-made earthquakes) is another hurdle to developing this technology. Developing a commercially sound reservoir for circulation of hot water and steam and being able to properly model a site's geophysical and mechanical properties, especially for deep well drilling, are other challenges.
The EIA stated there is ongoing research to improve drilling and operational controls to decrease the costs of EGS and mitigate the risks of induced seismicity. State and federal agencies are pursuing commercial partnerships to help fund demonstration projects run by government and commercial operators. The Utah Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy (FORGE), sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, is a field laboratory for testing EGS reservoir creation and management techniques. In addition, electricity customers with large data center needs are partnering with geothermal power developers.
Fervo Energy's Cape Generating Station, now under construction in Utah and expected to commence operations in June 2026, is identified by the EIA as being the first commercial-scale EGS generator in the United States. The facility has a planned maximum capacity of 53 MW, with 28 MW of net summer capacity. Two more EGS generators of the same size in the same location are expected to begin operation in January 2027. Fervo Energy, after signing two power purchase agreements (PPAs) totaling 320 MW with Southern California Edison, plans another expansion in 2028.
There are others pursuing EGS development that are highlighted in the EIA's analysis. Rodatherm Energy Corp. is piloting a closed-loop geothermal energy system, optimized to work in hot sedimentary rock, which is common throughout the western states and Gulf Coast. Rodatherm Energy expects its project will be operational by January 2028. In addition, The Department of Defense has partnered with six geothermal developers to build EGS plants to power Air Force, Army, Navy, and Marine bases in California, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas. Lastly, Meta signed an agreement with geothermal developer SAGE to provide Meta's data center operations with up to 150 MW of the first new geothermal power east of the Rocky Mountains. The first phase of this project is scheduled to be online and operating in 2027.
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