DOE Announces Notice of Intent for EGS Observatory

The Energy Department announced today its intent to issue a funding opportunity to establish a dedicated subsurface laboratory called the Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy (FORGE).  This first-of-its-kind effort will promote transformative and high-risk/high-reward science and engineering focused on addressing critical barriers to Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS). FORGE will enable testing of new technologies and techniques, with a central focus on EGS optimization and validation. In addition, the new initiative will include a robust instrumentation, data collection, and data dissemination effort to capture and share in real-time a higher-fidelity picture of EGS creation and evolution processes than any prior geothermal demonstration in the world.  It will also provide a collaborative and inclusive platform for advancement of EGS via participation from geothermal and other subsurface stakeholders.  Finally, FORGE will allow for the highly-integrated comparison of technologies and tools in a controlled and well-characterized environment.  Critical knowledge obtained at FORGE will inform the development of a methodology for reproducing large-scale, economically-sustainable heat exchange systems. The full text of this Notice of Intent is available on EERE Exchange. DOE intends to issue this multi-phase FOA in the near term. EERE envisions awarding multiple financial assistance awards in the form of cooperative agreements to conduct planning, site preparation and characterization. Subject to appropriations, a competitive down-select process is envisioned to identify the ultimate FORGE site for technology testing and evaluation.EERE plans to issue the FOA via the EERE Exchange website. More information on our Funding Opportunities can be found at EERE Exchange and through our website. To learn more about Geothermal Technologies Office portfolio, visit our website, peer review presentations, and program areas.