Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by Deputy Secretary David M. Turk at DOE’s Summit on Geothermal Energy

Monday, August 26, 2024

Thank you, Lauren. And thank you all for joining this important conversation about one of this Department's favorite sources of clean energy-geothermal!

• One of DOE's most important jobs, as we see it, is to convene energy producers, customers, and investors to do big things together.
• In recent years, we've seen unprecedented growth in demand for energy as our economy grows, the manufacturing sector booms, and new industries like AI expand.
• We believe this increased demand presents a huge opportunity to add clean, firm power to the grid.
• This has been a huge priority for the Biden-Harris administration from day one.
• Our efforts are already paying off: We are generating record amounts of carbon-free power, with even more projected to come online.
• This is where geothermal energy comes in.
• Harnessing and commercializing "the heat beneath our feet" is going to be a game-changeras we work to grow our clean power supply.
• So whether you are deep in the weeds of geothermal or you're merely "geothermal curious," we are so glad to have you at the table today.

Let's talk about why geothermal energy is so exciting.

• Those of you who have already invested know that geothermal has one crucial advantage: it uses the same technology, infrastructure, and experts that traditional oil and gas drilling have used for years.
• Next-generation geothermal is even more exciting, because it reduces some of the costs and risks of conventional geothermal exploration.
• Next-gen technologies create their own geothermal reservoirs using the heat naturally found in the subsurface.
• Instead of hunting for a needle in a haystack…next-gen geothermal draws power from the entire haystack!

Today, we're at an inflection point-one you'll recognize if you've worked on commercializing other clean technologies.

• We have made enormous strides in the R&D, thanks to many of my teammates at the National Labs.
• Just look at Forge, whose success is a testament to the R&D progress we've made on geothermal.
• The next step is to commercialize and scale.

Over the past few months, the private sector has started to ink deals in this space.

• We've seen a 320-MW power purchase agreement between Fervo and SoCal Edison;
• A 115-MW deal between Fervo, Google, and Nevada Energy;
• And today, I am delighted to announce that Sage Geosystems, and Meta are announcing a partnership to deliver up to 150MW of new geothermal baseload power.
• The agreement uses Sage's proprietary technology to provide clean power to Meta's data centers.
• And this is the first use of next-gen geothermal power east of the Rockies-we're expanding the frontiers of geothermal to the eastern half of the country.
• So who's going to be next?

Because we need to move faster-and we need more of you to take the plunge.

• We need early capital, about $5 billion in total, to unlock new developments.
• We need investors to be willing to fund exploration and new geothermal technologies.
• And we need more offtakers to see what many in this room have already recognized: geothermal is a clean, affordable solution to rising electricity demand.
• DOE's Geothermal Liftoff Report estimates that we need five to ten new projects across a range of geologies, requiring $20 to $25 billion total by 2030 to create a self-sustaining industry that can scale to the hundreds of billions.

As you embark on these projects, the Biden-Harris administration is all in on helping meet the demand for clean, firm power.

• Just today, we announced $31 million for new geothermal projects, including five that will help reduce project costs and improve longevity of geothermal wells.
• That's on top of the $74 million for enhanced geothermal systems demonstrations in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
• We have a 30% tax credit for geothermal projects under the IRA…
• And the government is helping to clear the way on permits, too-making it easier to convert federal oil and gas leases to geothermal leases.

Over the years, time and again, visionaries and first movers have looked at a new technology and seen an opportunity to solve a big challenge.

• Today, that challenge is the skyrocketing demand for electricity to power data centers and other energy-intensive technological projects.
• One of the many new technologies that's going to help us tackle that challenge is geothermal energy.
• And what's amazing is that this is an energy source that can have that transformative effect-but also call on existing resources, existing technologies, and existing workers.
• That's why I'm so bullish on geothermal-and I know you will be, too.
• So let's get to work-together.
• Thanks again for having me. And now, over to Susan to kick off our conversation.