Geothermal Weekly - #9
Our podcast releases this week, national security warms to geothermal, major energy companies about-face, and more!
Thank you for your patience folks! We took a break in the last few weeks to prepare our new podcast!
We’re excited to announce that we’ll be releasing our first podcast interview with Tim Tarver (Founding Board Member of Exceed Geo Energy) this upcoming Thursday @ 7:30AM Eastern.
Make sure to subscribe and follow our host, Frank Lapinski to stay tuned!
Now onto the Geothermal Weekly!
🇺🇸 National Security Warms to Geothermal
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has granted "Awardable" status to eleven companies under the U.S. Air Force’s geothermal initiative, paving the way for faster procurement and deployment of geothermal energy solutions across military installations.
These companies can now pursue contracts with the Air Force, Army, Navy, and other DoD branches without additional competition—a major step in the Pentagon’s push for energy resilience and sustainability.
Who made the cut?
The DoD selected these companies based on technical feasibility, scalability, and alignment with national security goals:
Addis Energy
Baker Hughes
EarthBridge Energy
Energy Systems Group (ESG) / GE Vernova and partners
Power Planet, Inc.
Quaise Energy
SLB Technology Corporation
TLS GEOTHERMICS
XGS Energy
Why it matters
This initiative strengthens military energy security by leveraging geothermal power as a reliable, renewable, and independent energy source—reducing reliance on external power grids and ensuring operational stability.
What’s next?
Sage Geosystems is developing a utility-scale geothermal power plant in Texas.
GreenFire Energy is repurposing underutilized geothermal fields for sustained baseload power.
Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) is expanding partnerships with firms like Fervo Energy and SLB to bring geothermal to bases in Alaska, California, Idaho, Nevada, and Texas.
The DoD remains open to new geothermal partnerships through Requests for Information (RFIs) and future solicitations, signaling ongoing opportunities for energy tech companies to help modernize military infrastructure.
🛢️ The Energy About-Face
The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence is driving unprecedented electricity demand, prompting utilities to reassess natural gas as a primary power source. Despite prior expectations that gas plants would phase out in favor of renewables, tech companies’ energy-intensive operations—particularly data centers—are accelerating new gas-fired power projects.
Why it matters
Natural gas is emerging as the default “fast and cheap” solution to power-hungry AI and cloud computing.
The U.S. power sector is the second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, making new gas plants a setback for climate goals.
Scientists warn that building new gas infrastructure is incompatible with a net-zero target by 2050.
By the numbers
46 GW of gas-fired power is projected to come online in the next five years (vs. 39 GW in the past five).
Major new announcements include:
Evergy: Two 705 MW plants in Kansas.
Entergy: A 2,300 MW plant for Meta’s AI data center in Louisiana, plus projects in Texas & Mississippi.
Tennessee Valley Authority: 1,450 MW plant.
Duke Energy: 1,400 MW project in North Carolina.
Georgia Power: Three oil/gas units totaling 1,300 MW.
What’s next?
Major companies have begun to abandon clean energy goals and are investing more heavily in oil and gas.
BP has cut planned annual investment in renewable energy businesses by more than $5 billion, from its previous forecast, to between $1.5 billion and $2 billion per year and aiming to grow oil and gas production to between 2.3 million and 2.5 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in 2030. It pumped 2.36 million boepd in 2024.
Even energy generators with large geothermal portfolios like Calpine (now part of Constellation) are investing more heavily in gas. Calpine is exploring new gas-fired capacity in the already congested mid-Atlantic region.
Some gas plants are being designed with carbon capture, battery storage, or hydrogen compatibility, but their long-term viability remains uncertain.
AI-driven demand may have been overestimated, with some analysts pointing to redundant power requests.
Opposition from climate groups is growing, calling for greater investment in solar, wind, and battery storage as alternatives.
Despite calls to curb fossil fuel use, utilities and grid operators continue to favor natural gas as a “bridge fuel”, prolonging its role in the energy mix—potentially for decades longer than expected.
🔨 Project Announcements
The Bureau of Land Management has approved the Newcastle Geothermal Development project, which is expected to generate up to 20 MW of geothermal energy on public lands near Newcastle in Iron County. Utah Geothermal Energy Partners is now authorized to construct a geothermal facility with an expected surface area of about 13.9 acres.
Fervo Energy has signed an 18-MW PPA to supply geothermal power from Beaver County, Utah to California utility Clean Power Alliance, adding on to a 30-MW previously signed contract.
💵 Financial Updates
Ormat Technologies Inc (NYSE:ORA) 4Q ‘24 results, showcase:
A notable earnings per share (EPS) of $0.72, surpassing the forecast of $0.51.
Revenue of $230.7 million, which fell short of expectations set at $236.45 million.
The company's trailing twelve-month revenue stands at $890.25 million, with a healthy revenue growth of 12.18%.
Despite the revenue miss, Ormat's stock rose by 3.09% in premarket trading.
Ormat also aims to grow its installed capacity to between 2.6 and 2.8 GW by the end of 2028.
🏛️ Political Updates
Colorado’s House Bill 1165 aims to clarify geothermal regulations and streamline permitting, but hot springs operators worry it could allow developers to tap into the same aquifers that sustain their businesses. While lawmakers, including Gov. Jared Polis, strongly support expanding geothermal as a key part of the state’s renewable energy strategy, they are also working to address concerns from the hot springs industry to ensure protections are in place before the bill advances.
Hawaii lawmakers are advancing two bills to fund geothermal exploration, with Senate Bill 1269 gaining support from advocates, while House Bill 1307 faces resistance from Native Hawaiians concerned about development on DHHL lands.
A new report backed by Project InnerSpace and Penn State suggests that Pennsylvania could fully meet its electricity and heating needs with geothermal energy within a decade by leveraging its oil and gas workforce. Policymakers and industry leaders are advocating for targeted policies to accelerate adoption and establish the state as a leader in geothermal innovation. However, the report has faced pushback from some existing oil and gas drilling groups. Read the full report here.
The EU’s recently released Affordable Energy Action Plan acknowledges the need for geothermal investment but lacks concrete steps to support its growth, drawing criticism from the European Geothermal Energy Council (EGEC) for omitting a dedicated Geothermal Action Plan despite prior commitments from policymakers.
📝 Additional Note
For those newer to geothermal, I came across this great post from the Journal of Petroleum Technology. I highly recommend checking it out to get a primer of geothermal and the relevant terms and technologies and some solid resources.
Thank you for reading and remember to: