About this episode

This episode discusses the advancements and potential of next-generation enhanced geothermal energy as a viable commercial technology.

It's taken a very long time to arrive, but next-generation geothermal power is finally becoming a commercial technology. Even though the virtues of geothermal have long been known and appreciated as clean, low-impact, and capable of running continuously, the few conventional geothermal installations in the US operating for decades supply less than half a percent of the nation's electricity. The promise of next-generation, "enhanced" geothermal, which we discussed back in Episode #248 , is that it can be used almost anywhere. But business and technical challenges have held it back. Until recently, that is. Now, several companies have overcome those challenges and are hard at work on new projects in the US and elsewhere, including Fervo Energy's Cape Station project in Utah, which is expected to begin delivering power this year and expand to 500 MW by 2028. And the resource is significant: According to the IEA, the technical potential for next-generation geothermal wells less than 5 km deep in the United States is greater than 7 terawatts, a number that's more than five times the nation's total existing electricity generation capacity. The US Department of Energy projects that as…

People in this episode

Host: Chris Nelder

Topics covered

• geothermal energy
• clean energy
• energy transition
• next-generation technology
• electricity generation
• sustainability

Keywords

• geothermal
• clean energy
• Fervo Energy
• US Department of Energy
• IEA
• electricity generation
• sustainability
• energy transition

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Fervo Energy, US Department of Energy, IEA

Places: Utah, United States

More episodes of The Energy Transition Show with Chris Nelder

• [Episode #280] – Statistical Review of World Energy 2026 · July 15, 2026 · 25 min
• [Episode #279] – Debottlenecking Europe’s Grid · July 1, 2026 · 22 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Energy Transition Show with Chris Nelder podcast page.