Although the U.S. geothermal resource is vast, only a small portion of it has been developed due to unique challenges associated with subsurface environments, along with process issues of geothermal projects, such as long permitting timelines. The oil and gas and geothermal industries have numerous similarities that provide new opportunities for geothermal expansion—from advances in drilling and well construction to co-production possibilities in existing oil and gas basins.
The Geothermal Energy from Oil and Gas Demonstrated Engineering (GEODE) initiative aims to leverage the extensive knowledge, technology, skill, and experience of the oil and gas sector, allowing the geothermal industry to tackle barriers to geothermal deployment while also including fossil-fuel-based communities and workers.
A team led by Project InnerSpace will serve as administrator for the initiative and carry out this objective. GTO will fund the administrator team about $10 million to form a consortium of experts and develop a roadmap to address technology and knowledge gaps in geothermal energy, based on best practices used within the oil and gas industry.
GEODE Facets and Research
DOE expects GEODE will be a 5-year effort, with the consortium issuing competitive solicitations of up to $155 million for research activities over the latter four years, pending appropriations. These competitive solicitations will advance the goals of the initiative by conducting research in four interrelated focus areas, called "Facets."
In this facet, the consortium will examine the technology and workflow needs of the geothermal industry and catalogue the gaps between geothermal and oil and gas in these areas. This facet will identify pathways that incorporate existing oil and gas technologies and methodologies into geothermal, and establish priorities for the most consequential gaps.
This facet seeks to overcome barriers to evaluating and using geothermal resources currently accessed by oil and gas infrastructure. This may include work towards better data availability, resource and engineering assessments, and demonstration projects that show the utility and commercial viability of producing geothermal heat and electricity from existing subsurface infrastructure.
In this facet, the consortium will identify and evaluate non-technical barriers to expanding the oil and gas industry into the geothermal space.
Consortium activities in this facet will include assessing future geothermal workforce needs and potential gaps, and determining the education and professional experiences needed to fill those gaps.
The GEODE initiative kicked off on September 10, 2024, at an event in Houston, Texas. Follow the initiative at the GEODE website.
Additional Information
GEODE is part of GTO’s Hydrothermal Resources and Enhanced Geothermal Systems programs. Learn more about other GTO initiatives.
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