Geothermal Isn't Expensive: The Reservoir Always Has the Final Say Somewhere beneath a volcanic ridge, a drill bit is turning through rock that has not moved in two million years. It costs money every second it turns. And nobody on the surface — not the engineer, not the financier, not the minister who announced the megawatts — knows yet whether that well will produce steam or silence. That single moment explains almost everything people get wrong about geothermal energy. Geothermal is routinely described as expensive, slow, capital-hungry and haunted by drilling risk. Investors are reminded that tens of millions can disappear underground before a single megawatt reaches a grid. All of that is true. But it is not the whole truth. The uncomfortable question the industry keeps avoiding is this: is geothermal expensive, or is the way we develop geothermal making it expensive? Those are two completely different problems. One is geology. The other is us. Why Geothermal Refuses to Be...
Exclusive Expert Insights on Superhot Resources, Cost Barriers, Africa’s Growth, and the Next Era of Geothermal Energy By : Robert Buluma Image:Bruce Gatherer, Geothermal Drilling Business Development & Operations Advisor at Iceland Drilling Company, and Sveinn Hannesson, CEO, who provided the expert insights behind this exclusive interview. Geothermal energy is entering a new and far more extreme frontier. As the global energy transition accelerates, attention is shifting from conventional hydrothermal systems to superhot, ultra-deep, and engineered geothermal systems that promise dramatically higher energy yields and broader geographic applicability. In this exclusive expert exchange, Iceland Drilling Company shares detailed insights on the future of geothermal drilling,covering technical frontiers, cost structures, workforce challenges, Africa’s geothermal opportunity, oil and gas crossover, digitalization, partnerships, and what the next 10–15 years may hold f...