New Report: How Next-Generation Geothermal Energy Can Meet New Demands with Clean, Firm Electricity 

Leveraging technology parallels from oil and gas, geothermal exploration and deployment could use pressure-tested policies to meet the moment of rising energy demand 

Press Release

April 8, 2026

Media Contact: Tim Carroll at press@c2es.org.

WASHINGTON – Drawing from technology and policy parallels advanced by the oil and gas sector, a new report from the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) highlights how breakthroughs in geothermal can meet growing energy demand with clean, firm, baseload power while reducing stress on the nation’s grid infrastructure and creating economic opportunity.

Read the full report here.  

The C2ES report, A Closer Look: Drilling Down outlines how advancements in exploration and drilling originally developed for the oil and gas industry are propelling this zero-carbon energy source forward. Geothermal heat produces enough energy to meet global electricity demand more than 100 times over, but historically, the source has only been available to communities with specific geographies that carry the earth’s heat close to the surface.

Today, the technology is more accessible than ever, with the ability to explore and deploy almost anywhere in the world. First of a kind projects are rapidly cutting drilling times—one of the biggest drivers of project costs—and demonstrating the added benefits next-generation geothermal can provide, such as energy storage and heat co-generation, which can reduce stress on the nation’s grid.

Barriers remain before this technology can be fully deployed, but the United States has been here before. The historic federal support for innovation in the oil and gas industry can provide a roadmap to ensure the potential of geothermal energy can be fully realized.

“Fifteen years ago, as I presented research at the World Geothermal Congress, experts on geothermal energy were convinced it would only ever be a niche solution,” said Closer Look author and geologist Emily Pope. “Fast forward to today and we’ve made leaps and bounds in the technology, leveraging what we’ve learned from the oil and gas industry to offer a climate-friendly alternative that could solve some of our most difficult challenges in emissions reductions and grid reliability, while creating new workforce pathways for legacy energy communities.”

Many of the workforce opportunities associated with advanced geothermal have comparable pay and require comparable skills to that of oil and gas drilling, creating clean energy pathways for legacy energy communities that have historically powered America’s economy.

The new report outlines how these parallels with the tight shale/tight sands natural gas development also create a strong policy playbook to deliver the benefits of next-generation geothermal.

The shale gas revolution succeeded because of Washington’s sustained support through demonstration, de-risking, and tax incentives. To achieve the full suite of benefits from geothermal, the report suggests Congress should retain clean energy tax credits, fund continued demonstrations, streamline permitting for projects on federal lands, and direct federal loan programs and financing tools toward early-stage geothermal projects.

Over the past several years, C2ES has engaged closely with leading companies across sectors to examine challenges and solutions to decarbonizing the U.S. economy by 2050. To inform policymakers considering these near- and long-term questions, C2ES launched a series of “Closer Look” briefs to investigate important facets of the decarbonization challenge, focusing on key technologies, critical policy instruments, and cross-sectoral challenges. These briefs explore policy implications and outline key steps needed to reach net zero by mid-century.

About C2ES: The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions—or C2ES—champions policies and technologies that foster thriving economies and shared prosperity, founded on abundant, affordable, and reliable clean energy and a safe climate. Founded in 1998 as the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, C2ES is known worldwide as a thought leader and trusted convener. We work with policymakers and leading businesses in the U.S. and around the world to forge durable, effective, and ambitious solutions to climate and energy challenges.

###