The National Renewable Energy Laboratory published a comprehensive report on the uses of and momentum behind the rising wave of next-generation geothermal.
Written by NREL’s communication project manager Kelly MacGregor, the article is a culmination of six months of immersive research into the world of geothermal and the current projects underway at NREL. Complete with educational infographics, photos of real-world geothermal technology in use, and plenty of blue links to satisfy thoroughly curious readers, the article delves into great detail about the uses, old and new, of earth-based energy.
NREL is a laboratory under the US Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Rewenable Energy, and managed by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy LLC. With six national centres and collaborative research facilities across America, 16 research programs involving projects from bioenergy to grid modernization, and nearly 700 patents for proprietary technologies, NREL is undoubtedly a leading energy science institution.
And according to MacGregor’s article, NREL scientists see geothermal as the hottest thing in the energy transition. Geothermal innovators such as Eavor are pioneering new applications of the age-old technology, broadening the use of geothermal beyond rare geologic conditions with closed-loop extraction techniques. Conventional methods are also evolving, allowing companies to create conditions suitable for geothermal production, rather than just finding them.
Geothermal has a long laundry list of other applications, notably in conjunction with other types of energy production or storage. Subterranean energy can be used for heating and cooling buildings, anywhere from individual homes to entire communities, even the Empire State Building. Geothermal can also be used for underground energy storage, facilitated by repurposing oil and gas wells to produce geothermal energy, co-producing geothermal energy and fossil fuels, and storing thermal energy and carbon until needed.
Earth-based energy can also be integrated into existing renewable technology such as wind and solar, in order to extend the use of intermittent sources beyond their unavoidable environmental limitations.
Read the full article by Kelly MacGregor to learn more about the potential for geothermal energy, and NREL’s current partnerships and research projects.
At Eavor, the possibilities of geothermal are endlessly exciting. Proprietary Eavor-LoopTM technology, designed by experts from the oil and gas industry, is leading the wave of next-generation geothermal innovation. And Eavor has gone beyond promising lab results – with the first commercial-scale closed-loop geothermal project underway in Geretsried, Germany, project pipelines in America, Latin America, and Europe, and a more than €91 million grant from the European Innovation Fund, Eavor is proving geothermal energy is leading the energy transition, “Full Steam Ahead.”
