Big Blind: The Geothermal Discovery That Changes Everything By: Robert Buluma Utah startup  Zanskar Geothermal quietly dropped one of the most important announcements in American energy in decades. They discovered and confirmed “Big Blind” ,the first completely blind, commercial-grade geothermal system found in the United States in over thirty years. Let that sink in. No hot springs.   No fumaroles.   No steaming ground.   No prior wells.   Zero surface expression whatsoever. Just desert, sagebrush, and – 7,000 feet below,  a reservoir hot enough and permeable enough to support gigawatt-scale power production. This isn’t incremental progress. This is a paradigm breaker. Why “Blind” Discoveries Matter So Much For the last 40 years, geothermal development in the U.S. has been geographically handcuffed. You could only build plants where nature advertised the resource on the surface – think Yellowstone, The Geysers, or Imperial Valley. Ever...

Hot Nest Norway: The World’s Most Extraordinary Geothermal Spa Resort is Taking Shape Inside a Mountain By:  Robert Buluma Deep in the dramatic Gudbrandsdalen valley in Otta, Norway, something truly groundbreaking (literally) is happening. A former slate quarry is being transformed into Hot Nest Norway – a year-round luxury destination carved directly into the bedrock of the mountain, powered entirely by deep geothermal energy. This isn’t just another spa. It’s a visionary fusion of raw Norwegian nature, cutting-edge renewable energy, and jaw-dropping architecture that looks like it was designed by a collaboration between Tolkien and Tesla. What is Hot Nest Norway? Imagine walking into a mountain and discovering 3,000 m² of luxurious spaces:   20 uniquely designed hotel rooms   700 m² of geothermal-heated indoor and outdoor pools (yes, outdoor pools in the Norwegian winter – steaming at +38 °C while snow falls around you)   A fine-dining restaurant cel...

Alexander Oxley Acquires Slatina-3 Geothermal Exploration Field in Croatia Published: November 24, 2025 Author:  Robert Buluma In a quiet but significant move for Croatia’s emerging geothermal sector, British investor Jordan Alexander Oxley has acquired the Slatina-3 geothermal exploration field near Slatina in Virovitica-Podravina County. The asset was previously owned by EES Dravacell Energy , a company majority-controlled by London-based Cindrigo that filed for bankruptcy earlier this year. Oxley emerged as the sole bidder in the bankruptcy sale and secured the property for €400,000, double the initial asking price of €200,000, according to bankruptcy administrator Verko Kutleša in an interview with Jutarnji list. The transaction includes the exploration license and the existing exploration well. Bankruptcy proceedings for EES Dravacell Energy are still ongoing, but the geothermal asset has now changed hands. Background of the Project Cindrigo originally planned to develop a 2...

Rochester’s Downtown Building Energy Transition: Building Minnesota’s First Municipal Thermal Energy Network By: Robert Buluma Rochester, Minnesota is quietly making history. In November 2025, the city flipped the switch on Phase 2 of its Downtown Building Energy Transition (DBET), creating the state’s first municipal thermal energy network that connects multiple public buildings to clean, renewable geothermal energy. City Hall, the Mayo Civic Center, Rochester Public Library, Rochester Art Center, and Rochester Civic Theatre are now linked through a shared “ambient loop” that moves heat where it’s needed ,no fossil fuels required for day-to-day operations. This isn’t just another green project checkbox. It’s a practical, scalable model for how mid-sized American cities can decarbonize large downtown building clusters while actually saving money. What Exactly Is a Thermal Energy Network? Think of it as district energy, but smarter and cleaner. A thermal energy network is a closed-loop ...

Eavor Technologies Achieves Historic Milestone: World’s First Commercial-Scale Closed-Loop Geothermal System Now Delivering Power in Geretsried, Germany Published: December 2025 By:  Robert Buluma The Day Geothermal Changed Forever On a crisp Bavarian morning in late 2025, a quiet revolution in clean energy officially went live.   Eavor Technologies Inc ., the Calgary-based pioneer of closed-loop geothermal technology, announced that its flagship commercial project in Geretsried, Germany has begun delivering power to the grid becoming the world’s first utility-scale multilateral closed-loop geothermal system to achieve commercial operation. For anyone who has followed the geothermal sector for the last decade, this is nothing short of seismic (pun intended). What Makes Eavor’s Closed-Loop System Truly Disruptive? Traditional geothermal plants rely on naturally occurring hot water reservoirs or enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) that require hydraulic fracturing and massiv...

€1 Billion EU Auction: A Game-Changer for Decarbonizing Europe's Industrial Heat Posted by Robert Buluma | December 4, 2025 In a bold move toward climate neutrality, the European Commission has just opened the doors to a €1 billion funding bonanza aimed squarely at slashing fossil fuel dependency in one of Europe's most carbon-intensive sectors: industrial heat. If you're in the energy transition space, engineering, or sustainability game, this is your wake-up call. The Innovation Fund Fixed Premium Auction 2025 (IF25) for Industrial Process Heat Decarbonisation is now live, and it's not just another grant round—it's a competitive sprint to electrify and renew the way industries heat up their operations. As of today, December 4, 2025, the call is open for submissions until February 19, 2026. With projects required to be up and running within four years of grant signature, this auction is designed for speed and scale. Let's break it down: what it covers, who'...

Alberta launches $35-million challenge to reinvent drilling for the next 50 years   By  Robert Buluma | December 3, 2025   EDMONTON – The days of drilling straight down and hoping for the best are long gone. Today, operators in Western Canada routinely steer multi-kilometre horizontal wells with pinpoint accuracy from a single surface location. Tomorrow’s wells, however, could be guided entirely by artificial intelligence, powered by low-emission rigs, and used to unlock everything from geothermal heat to critical minerals and permanent CO₂ storage. That future just got a $35-million boost. Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA ) officially opened applications this week for the Drilling Technology Challenge, a funding program designed to bridge the “valley of death” that too often kills promising subsurface innovations before they ever reach the field. “Many great ideas never make it past the prototype stage because the cost and risk of real-world testing are simply...