13 States Launch Initiative to Accelerate Geothermal Power Development

NASEO Launches Multistate Geothermal Power Accelerator: A Major Step Toward Clean, Reliable Energy

In a significant boost for America's clean energy future, the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) announced on December 18, 2025, the launch of the NASEO Geothermal Power Accelerator. This collaborative initiative brings together 13 states to fast-track the development of geothermal power in partnership with the private sector. Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Geothermal Technologies Office and NASEO itself, the Accelerator aims to unlock the vast potential of geothermal energy a reliable, firm, and flexible source of clean power available around the clock.

The participating states are Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, and West Virginia. These diverse regions, spanning traditional geothermal hotspots in the West to emerging opportunities in the East, will work collectively to set ambitious statewide geothermal goals, streamline policies, reduce project costs, and eliminate regulatory hurdles.

Geothermal energy taps into the Earth's internal heat, providing baseload power that doesn't fluctuate with weather like solar or wind. Unlike intermittent renewables, geothermal plants can operate 24/7, making them ideal for grid reliability amid rising electricity demand from data centers, electrification, and manufacturing.

Recent advancements in enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) which involve injecting fluid into hot, dry rock to create permeable reservoirs have expanded viable sites beyond natural hydrothermal areas. This next-generation technology could make geothermal accessible nationwide, potentially supplying a substantial portion of U.S. electricity needs.

Why This Initiative Matters Now

The timing couldn't be better. The U.S. currently generates only about 0.4% of its electricity from geothermal, mostly in Western states. However, studies suggest massive untapped potential: with technological progress, geothermal capacity could grow 26-fold to 60 GW by 2050, powering millions of homes. In regions like the Great Basin, EGS alone could meet 10% of national demand.

States are stepping up because geothermal offers multiple benefits:

Reliability: Firm power to stabilize the grid.

Economic Growth: Jobs in drilling, construction, and operations,leveraging skills from the oil and gas industry.

Energy Independence: Domestic resource reducing reliance on imports.

Environmental Wins: Near-zero emissions, minimal land use compared to other renewables.

Co-benefits: In places like California's Lithium Valley, geothermal brines can yield critical minerals like lithium.

Voices from the States: Strong Bipartisan Support

Leaders across the political spectrum praised the Accelerator.

Idaho Governor Brad Little highlighted the state's rich resources: "Our continued focus on geothermal power strengthens communities, supports economic growth, and keeps our grid resilient."

Colorado Governor Jared Polis emphasized affordability: "By streamlining processes... we are delivering more cost-saving energy to Coloradans and saving people money on energy bills."

Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs noted: "Our participation... will foster cross-state collaboration, bolstering our ability to scale geothermal energy across Arizona."

California Governor Gavin Newsom pointed to dual benefits: "Geothermal has the opportunity to deliver clean energy and extract lithium... fast-tracking the world's clean energy future."

Utah's Emy Lesofski touted innovation: "We’re home to FORGE and Fervo... leading the nation in research and commercial development."

Nevada's Dwayne McClinton called his state "the center of America’s geothermal opportunity."

Directors from Oregon, New Mexico, Montana, Pennsylvania, and Hawaii echoed these sentiments, stressing diversification, innovation, and self-sufficiency.

Even Eastern states like Pennsylvania and West Virginia see potential in EGS for complementing renewables and meeting future demands.

NASEO President David Terry summed it up: “With advancements in geothermal technologies, states across the country will soon have access to new supplies of reliable, affordable, clean electricity... strengthening grid reliability and lowering energy costs."

The Path Forward

The Accelerator kicks off with strategy sessions, industry discussions, and collaborations with federal agencies and developers. States will share best practices, address barriers like permitting delays, and attract private investment.

Complementing the launch, NASEO released a comprehensive report: Geothermal Power: Overview and Considerations for State Policy, Planning, and Market Advancement. This resource guides policymakers on expanding geothermal generation, covering technical, economic, and regulatory aspects.

This builds on prior efforts, including DOE's FORGE lab in Utah and private projects like Fervo Energy's enhanced systems powering Google data centers.

Challenges remain,high upfront drilling costs, exploration risks, and permitting,but cross-state coordination and federal support are poised to overcome them.

A Brighter, Hotter Future

The NASEO Geothermal Power Accelerator represents a unified push toward a resilient, clean energy grid. By harnessing the heat beneath our feet, these 13 states are leading the charge to make geothermal a cornerstone of America's energy mix. As demand surges and technologies mature, this "sleeping giant" of renewables is finally awakening.

For more details, visit NASEO’s Geothermal Power Accelerator webpage.

Source: Naseo

Connect with us: LinkedIn,X

Subscribe to our Geothermal Newsletter

Comments

Best Geothermal Drilling Companies in the World: Top Global Leaders, Deepest Wells, Major Projects, and Future Market Outlook

Best Geothermal Drilling Companies in the World Image: a drilling rig and a geothermal manifestation Geothermal drilling sits at the center of one of the most important but least understood parts of the clean energy transition. While solar and wind often dominate public discussion, geothermal energy offers something that many power systems still struggle to achieve: firm, dispatchable, low-carbon energy that can run around the clock. The challenge is that geothermal resources are hidden below the surface, which means the industry depends on highly specialized drilling companies capable of working in extreme heat, fractured rock, remote terrain, and high-pressure environments. The best geothermal drilling companies in the world are not all pure geothermal contractors. Some are large oilfield service companies that have adapted their drilling technology to geothermal applications. Others are specialist geothermal drillers with decades of hard-rock and high-temperature experience. A ...

Idle GDC Drilling Machines Put Sh15bn Investment Into Question

Idle GDC drilling machines put Sh15bn investment into question Image: A GDC Owned Geothermal Rig Kenya’s geothermal ambitions have long been presented as one of the country’s strongest energy success stories. Yet a fresh audit report has exposed a costly weakness inside the Geothermal Development Company , where drilling rigs worth Sh15.93 billion have raised hard questions about value for money, asset management, and the future pace of geothermal expansion. The issue is not simply that machines are sitting idle. It is that these machines were bought for a strategic purpose: to drill wells, unlock steam, and help Kenya expand one of its cleanest and most reliable sources of power. When such expensive equipment remains unused for years, the problem goes far beyond maintenance. It points to a breakdown in planning, operations, oversight, and financial discipline. For a country that relies heavily on geothermal energy to stabilise electricity supply, the implications are serious. Every id...

Germany Köln‑Dellbrück Massenkalk Geothermal Exploration: What the Deep Data Reveals

Köln, Dellbrück Research Well, Probing the Massenkalk for Hydrothermal Geothermal Potential Image: A drilling rig at the Köln-Dellbrück geothermal research site, probing deep underground for hidden heat. Since late June 2026 a rotary drill bit has been descending at Thurner Kamp in Köln, Dellbrück, marking the start of a targeted research drilling campaign by the Geological Service of North Rhine, Westphalia, GD NRW. The exploratory borehole, planned to reach up to 1,000 meters, will test whether the region’s roughly 380 million year old limestone sequence known as the Massenkalk can act as a viable hydrothermal geothermal reservoir. For industry stakeholders, utilities and project developers, the drill program offers both immediate technical insights and strategic data to inform future geothermal development under the Masterplan Geothermie NRW. Why Köln, Dellbrück matters to geothermal development in NRW North Rhine, Westphalia is one of Germany’s most densely populated and industrial...

Eavor Validates Closed-Loop Geothermal Technology at Germany's Geretsried Project

Eavor Remains Committed to Geretsried as Loop 1 Proves Closed-Loop Geothermal Technology at Commercial Scale CALGARY, Canada / GERETSRIED, Germany, image : The Eavor Geretsried Project Company confirms flagship German project has validated Eavor-Loop™ technology, achieved major drilling cost reductions, and will serve as the foundation for global deployment through licensing and next-generation drilling innovation. Eavor Technologies has reaffirmed its commitment to completing the landmark Geretsried geothermal project, describing the development as a pivotal milestone not only for the company but also for the future of closed-loop geothermal energy worldwide. In exclusive responses provided to Alphaxioms, Eavor President and Chief Executive Officer Mark Fitzgerald confirmed that the company remains the operator of the project and is working closely with partners and stakeholders to complete the remaining development phases. "Eavor is currently the operator at Geretsried an...

Reliability-First Geothermal Plant Design: How PGE’s Lumut Balai Unit 3 Turns Fleet Data into High-Availability Baseload Power

Designing a baseload geothermal plant is not about hitting a single commercial operation date; it is about building a machine that can run hard, almost all the time, for decades. Pertamina Geothermal Energy’s (PGE) Lumut Balai Unit 3 project shows what it looks like when an operator bakes reliability, data, and predictive maintenance into the plant from day one instead of trying to bolt them on later. Building Reliability In From Day One: Inside PGE’s Lumut Balai Unit 3 Pertamina Geothermal Energy is developing a 55 MW geothermal plant at Lumut Balai in Indonesia that is scheduled to start operations in 2030, but the critical work is happening now, long before first steam. Rather than treating Unit 3 as a standalone asset, PGE is designing it as part of a living fleet,using detailed data from existing units to guide every major decision. Operations director Andi Joko Nugroho captures the mindset in a single line: “A baseload geothermal plant cannot be designed only to achieve comm...

Geothermal Funding Rounds in June–July 2026: Quaise, Endurance, Hephae, Alberta & the Rise of Next-Gen Energy Investment

June and July 2026 marked a clear acceleration in geothermal and next-generation energy investing. Capital flowed into companies building the tools, systems, and project models needed to unlock deeper heat, faster deployment, and more reliable clean power. Image : a thematic view of a geothermal equipment The strongest signal from these months is that geothermal is no longer being viewed only as a climate technology. It is increasingly being treated as a power infrastructure category with relevance to data centers, heavy industry, utilities, and long-duration energy security. This shift matters because geothermal has always had strong fundamentals, but it has often struggled to attract the scale of capital needed to move from technical promise to commercial deployment. What changed in 2026 is the combination of improved drilling capabilities , stronger investor familiarity with enhanced geothermal systems , and rising demand for firm clean electricity. That mix has made the ...

Doug Copeland Interview: Geothermal Industry Insights for USA and Global Renewable Energy Markets

Alphaxioms Interview: Doug Copeland Image: Doug Copeland Created a Transmission Strategy For the Mountain West Geothermal Consortium and also has expertise in Early Stage Development on Site identification based on Land 1. Could you briefly introduce yourself and tell our readers how you became involved in the geothermal industry? I have spent over 20 years in renewable energy development. My last role before geothermal was helping to set up an offshore wind joint venture and building two teams as we grew from 8 to 250 people. I wanted to stay in renewable energy and see a lot of similarities with geothermal and offshore wind. I started with one consulting client last fall and grew from there. Over the course of two decades I worked across multiple stages of project development, from early site evaluation and stakeholder engagement to permitting, financing, and construction oversight. That breadth of experience helped me transition smoothly between technologies because many project-dev...

Tanzania’s Ngozi Geothermal Drilling Contract Boosts Geothermal Exploration and Energy Development

ELC Electroconsult Wins Tanzania’s Ngozi Geothermal Drilling Contract Tanzania has taken another meaningful step toward commercial geothermal development after Italy’s ELC Electroconsult secured a contract to oversee exploratory drilling at the Ngozi geothermal field. The award marks an important milestone for the Tanzania Geothermal Development Company Limited (TGDC) as the country works to unlock one of its most promising renewable energy resources. The contract is more than a routine consultancy assignment. It signals a deliberate push to turn geological potential into actionable project data, strengthen local technical capacity, and build the foundation for future geothermal power generation in Tanzania’s energy mix. Tanzania’s Geothermal Ambition Gains Momentum Geothermal energy has long been viewed as one of Tanzania’s most promising but underdeveloped domestic energy sources. The country sits within the East African Rift System, a geologically active zone that offers stro...

New York’s Geothermal Push Could Reshape Heating and Cooling Costs

New York Is Betting on Geothermal to Cut Heating Costs Image:New Yorks Statue of Liberty, " Forever Liberated " New York is moving geothermal and thermal energy networks from niche ideas into real-world pilots, with state support, utility investment, and an explicit goal of lowering long-term utility bills. The latest projects in Syracuse and Buffalo show two different paths to the same objective: make clean heating and cooling cheaper, easier to install, and scalable across more buildings. Why New York is investing now The state’s push is rooted in a simple idea: heating and cooling still account for a large share of building energy use, and existing systems waste a lot of usable heat. NYSERDA President and CEO Doreen Harris said geothermal demonstrations are meant to reduce costs for consumers and help technologies move from innovation to commercialization at scale. That matters because the biggest barrier to adoption is often not the technology itself, but the upfront co...

Geothermal Financing in the Netherlands: Targeted Investment Strategies with Invest-NL, EBN, and Geothermie Nederland for Low-Carbon Heat Growth

Financing Geothermal Energy: How Targeted Instruments Can Unlock a National Heat Transition The Netherlands sits on a valuable but underused subsurface resource, sustainable geothermal heat. Ambitious heating targets and growing demand for low-carbon district heat make geothermal an essential part of the energy transition. Yet a familiar barrier persists , high upfront development costs and early,phase risks make many projects unattractive to private financiers. This article explains practical financing instruments, project structures, and policy actions that can reduce those early risks, speed deployment, and attract private capital for geothermal energy at scale. Why geothermal financing is difficult Geothermal projects face a financial profile unlike typical renewables. Main challenges include: , High upfront capital expenditure (CAPEX) during exploration and drilling, with the bulk of costs front,loaded. , Subsurface uncertainty, resource quality (temperature, flow) is only conf...

ALPHAXIOMS Geothermal News & Energy Research

Search This Blog

Just In

If You Had $1 Billion for Geothermal, Where Should You Invest?