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The Retrofit Revolution: How GreenFire Energy Is Turning Abandoned Oil & Geothermal Wells Into Continuous Clean Power Without New Drilling

The Retrofit Revolution: How GreenFire Energy Is Unlocking Geothermal Power Without Drilling a Single New Well By: Robert Buluma   While much of the geothermal energy sector has been focused on breakthrough drilling techniques—deeper wells, hotter reservoirs, and complex engineered systems—a quieter revolution has been unfolding in the background. Instead of chasing entirely new subsurface frontiers, one company has chosen a radically simpler question: What if the answer was already in the ground? GreenFire Energy is advancing a retrofit-first geothermal strategy that targets one of the most overlooked opportunities in the global energy transition: existing wells that are underperforming, depleted, or completely abandoned. Rather than drilling new holes into the Earth, the company is reusing the infrastructure that already exists—turning stranded assets into continuous sources of clean, baseload electricity. This approach is not just technically elegant. It may also be one of ...
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Iceland Heats Up the Canaries: Reykjavík Geothermal to Ignite Tenerife’s First Geothermal Drilling This Autumn

In a bold and historic leap towards clean energy, Tenerife is gearing up for its first-ever geothermal drilling for energy production, thanks to a visionary collaboration led by Reykjavík Geothermal (RG) of Iceland and local energy giant DISA. 
The project marks a seismic shift in how the Canary Islands approach renewable energy quite literally.
As the autumn breeze begins to roll in over the volcanic landscapes of Tenerife, drilling rigs will roar to life, signaling the dawn of a geothermal revolution in the region. This isn’t just another renewable energy project it’s the birth of an entirely new energy frontier, and Iceland is right at the helm.
🌍 A Northern Powerhouse in a Southern Paradise
Renowned for harnessing its own geothermal resources with unmatched expertise, Iceland has long been the benchmark for clean, sustainable energy. Now, Reykjavík Geothermal is exporting that excellence to the Canary Islands through a trailblazing partnership with DISA, unlocking the Earth’s heat beneath Tenerife’s volcanic crust.
This initiative is more than just a technical feat it’s a symbol of cross-border cooperation to combat climate change and bring energy independence to island economies.
💰 Backed by Big Green Bucks
This geothermal vision is not just hot air. In December 2023, Reykjavík Geothermal and DISA secured a whopping €58 million grant from Spain’s Institute of Energy Diversification and Saving (IDAE). This injection of funds serves as a powerful vote of confidence in the project’s viability and urgency.
The financing supports advanced exploration and drilling, ensuring that Tenerife’s move into geothermal energy is not only pioneering but also sustainable, reliable, and economically sound.
🛠️ From Licensing to Launch Pads
The journey began in August 2023, when RG and DISA successfully acquired the critical licenses needed to proceed with geothermal exploration on the island. This regulatory green light marked a pivotal moment, allowing technical teams to begin site assessments, mobilize equipment, and design what could be the Canary Islands' first geothermal power stations.

This upcoming autumn marks the transition from paperwork to progress. Drills will descend, data will surface, and Tenerife's underground thermal power will finally be tapped.
🔥 Bolaalda Project: Iceland’s Energy Masterpiece
Meanwhile, back in Iceland, RG is making waves with its 100 MWe / 133 MWth Bolaalda Project, which was prioritized under the country’s Energy Master Plan in June 2024. This project reinforces RG’s standing as a major player in the global geothermal scene. With Iceland and the Canary Islands as dual showcases, RG is poised to reshape the global conversation around geothermal energy.
🌋 A Volcanic Alliance for the Future
Reykjavík Geothermal’s foray into Tenerife is not only a technical endeavor it’s a statement of intent. It demonstrates that even remote island regions can harness the fiery forces beneath their feet to fuel a cleaner, greener future. With Iceland’s expertise and Tenerife’s untapped geothermal potential, the partnership could set a new standard for other volcanic regions across the globe.
As the countdown to drilling begins, the world watches in anticipation. Because when Iceland and Tenerife join forces under the banner of sustainability, the results are bound to be explosively transformative.

📌 Stay tuned as Alphaxioms continues to spotlight groundbreaking geothermal innovations reshaping our planet’s energy landscape. Be sure to follow us for more updates on this fiery collaboration between the North and the South.


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Eavor steps back from operator role in the Geretsried geothermal project

Eavor at the Crossroads: What Geretsried Really Tells Us About the Future of Closed-Loop Geothermal By Alphaxioms Geothermal Insights | May 13, 2026 For years, Eavor Technologies was the geothermal sector's most talked-about enigma. The company raised hundreds of millions of dollars, attracted backing from heavyweights including BP , Chevron , Helmerich & Payne , and Temasek , and made bold promises about a proprietary closed-loop technology that would quietly revolutionise how humanity extracts heat from the earth. But it rarely said much in public. The secrecy was, to many observers in the geothermal community, a feature rather than a bug — protecting intellectual property, managing competitive intelligence, buying time. Now, Eavor is talking. And what it is saying is worth listening to very carefully. In an exclusive interview published on May 13, 2026, by GeoExpro editor Henk Kombrink, Eavor's new president and CEO Mark Fitzgerald — who took the role in October 2025 ...
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Rodatherm Energy: The Refrigerant Gambit

By: Robert Buluma   Rodatherm Energy has done something no other geothermal startup has attempted at commercial scale: swapped water for refrigerant in a closed-loop system. The claim is 50% higher thermal efficiency than water-based binary cycles, achieved by circulating a proprietary phase-change fluid through a fully cased, pressurized wellbore. The company emerged from stealth in September 2025 with a $38 million Series A—the largest first venture raise in geothermal history. Lead investor Evok Innovations was joined by Toyota Ventures, TDK Ventures, and the Grantham Foundation. The engineering thesis is elegant. The execution risks are significant. This is an Alphaxioms examination of both. II. The Thermodynamic Distinction Every geothermal company you've covered moves heat using water or steam. Rodatherm moves heat using a fluid that boils and condenses inside the wellbore. In a conventional closed-loop water system (Eavor's model), water circulates as a single-phase liq...
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GEN Electric Grid Impact Study RFP in Framingham Massachusetts Advances Utility Geothermal Networks

GEN Electric Grid Impact Study RFP Signals a Defining Moment for Geothermal Energy Networks in the United States By: Robert Buluma The United States geothermal sector is entering a new phase, one where geothermal systems are no longer being viewed only as sources of heating and cooling, but increasingly as strategic infrastructure capable of strengthening the electric grid itself. In one of the most important emerging developments in utility-scale thermal network deployment, the Home Energy Efficiency Team (HEET), in partnership with Eversource Gas, has officially launched a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a groundbreaking Electric Grid Impact Study focused on Geothermal Energy Networks (GENs), also referred to as Thermal Energy Networks (TENs). Backed by funding from the U.S. Department of Energy under grant “DE-EE0010662.0002 Home Energy Efficiency Team Utility-Managed Geothermal Pilot in Framingham, Massachusetts,” the initiative represents far more than a local energy pilot. It is...
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Gran Canaria geothermal drilling tender expected soon announcement

Gran Canaria’s Geothermal Push Enters New Phase as Drilling Tender Preparations Begin By: Robert Buluma   Gran Canaria’s geothermal ambitions are rapidly moving from theoretical exploration toward real industrial development. In a major development for Spain’s renewable energy sector, the Cabildo of Gran Canaria has intensified efforts to unlock underground geothermal resources while preparations quietly advance for what could become one of the Canary Islands’ most important clean energy drilling campaigns. The latest momentum comes as the Cabildo formally seeks another permit to investigate geothermal resources across strategic areas of the island. At the same time, authorities and project partners are preparing technical tender documents for exploratory geothermal drilling operations expected to begin in the coming development phases. Together, these developments signal that geothermal energy is no longer being treated as a distant scientific possibility in Gran Canaria. It is ...
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The XGS Energy Heat Sponge Solves Geothermal's Biggest Problem

The XGS Energy Heat Sponge Solves Geothermal's Biggest Problem I mage: A californian XGS well pad Imagine drilling a hole into the Earth’s hot crust  but instead of simply dropping in a pipe and hoping for the best, you paint the inside of that hole with a magic material that soaks up heat like a sponge soaks up water. Then you seal it, circulate a fluid, and generate clean, firm electricity  24/7, no fracking, no water consumption, no earthquakes. That’s not science fiction. That’s XGS Energy . While most of the geothermal world has been chasing fracked reservoirs or massive drilling rigs, XGS quietly built a prototype, ran it for over 3,000 hours in one of the harshest geothermal environments on Earth, and landed a 150 MW deal with Meta – enough to power tens of thousands of homes or a massive data center campus. This is the story of a technology that might be the most elegant, low-risk, and capital-efficient path to scalable geothermal power. Let’s dig in. Part 1: The Pro...
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LCOE Benchmarking: Eavor Technologies vs. Fervo Energy

LCOE Compared: Eavor Technologies vs.  Fervo Energy   Two Bets on Next-Generation Geothermal An Alphaxioms Geothermal Insights Analysis | May 2026 Image:  Eavor and Fervo Drilling Rigs well poised in their respective well pads , drill baby , baby what a time to be a live Introduction: Why the Cost Question Matters Now The global geothermal sector is in the middle of a pivotal moment. After decades of stagnation largely confined to volcanic hotspots, two fundamentally different technological approaches are racing to prove that geothermal energy can be deployed broadly, cheaply, and at scale. Eavor Technologies , the Calgary-based advanced geothermal systems (AGS) company, and Fervo Energy , the Houston-based enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) pioneer, represent the sharpest divergence in next-generation geothermal strategy today. Each company is backed by hundreds of millions of dollars in private capital, each has reached key commercial milestones, and each is advancing ...
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Fervo Energy Is Sitting on a Lithium Goldmine: Why DLE + IPO Is the Billion-Dollar Move They Haven't Made Yet

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China's Supercritical CO₂ Geothermal Heating Breakthrough: What It Means for the World

China’s Supercritical CO₂ Geothermal Heating Breakthrough: What It Means for the World By Robert Buluma | Alphaxioms Geothermal Insights | May 19, 2026 Introduction: A Quiet Breakthrough in Zhengzhou On May 19, 2026, a major but underreported milestone emerged from Zhengzhou in China’s Henan Province. China Huaneng Group , one of the country’s largest state-owned energy companies, commissioned what is believed to be the world’s first commercial geothermal heating system using supercritical carbon dioxide (CO₂) as its working fluid instead of water. The announcement did not generate major global headlines, yet its implications are significant. This is not just another geothermal pilot project. It represents a working demonstration of a fundamentally different geothermal architecture that could reshape how heat is extracted from the Earth, especially in urban district heating systems. The Zhengzhou project signals a possible shift in geothermal engineering thinking—from water-based sys...
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Mercury Expands New Zealand Geothermal Platform With Billion Dollar Investment

Mercury’s $1 Billion Geothermal Expansion Signals a New Era for New Zealand’s Renewable Energy Future By: Robert Buluma   Mercury Doubles Down on Geothermal Power New Zealand’s renewable energy transition has entered a bold new chapter after Mercury announced plans to significantly scale its geothermal platform with a potential investment of up to $1 billion. The announcement marks one of the country’s most ambitious geothermal expansion strategies in recent years and reinforces geothermal energy’s growing role as a reliable, baseload renewable power source capable of supporting future electricity demand. Mercury revealed that it will immediately commit NZ$75 million toward geothermal appraisal drilling at two major projects located near Taupō — Ngā Tamariki and Rotokawa. These developments could collectively generate an additional 1 terawatt-hour (TWh) of electricity annually, enough to power approximately 125,000 more homes across New Zealand. The projects are expected to t...
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Zanskar Advances Arizona Geothermal Project as Arizona Oil and Gas Conservation Commission Approves New Wells

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