Latest News

• Region: North America
• Topics: Geothermal
• Date: Jan, 2025

Geothermal and renewable energy company, Ormat Technologies, has signed a 10-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with North American supplier, Calpine Energy Solutions.

The agreement enables Calpine to purchase up to 15MW of clean, renewable energy from the Mammoth 2 geothermal power plant near Mammoth Lakes, California.

The new PPA that replaces the one with the Southern California Edison Company will become applicable for energy deliveries from 2027, equipped with increased production capacities and higher price points to meet the tight supply-demand balance of carbon-differentiated electricity in California, driven by state Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) compliance needs and voluntary corporate demand.

Serving customised energy strategies

Sean Fallmer, President, Calpine Energy Solutions explained, “Now more than ever, it’s critical to have a robust network of strategic partners, like Ormat, that focus on alternative and renewable geothermal supply-side technologies that ensure our retail clients can procure customised, scalable energy strategies that are aligned to their unique cost, risk, and carbon goals.”

Doron Blachar, Chief Executive Officer of Ormat Technologies, commented, “We are excited to partner with Calpine Energy Solutions to provide them with reliable zero emission power from our Mammoth 2 geothermal facility. Under this agreement, Ormat will add up to 15MW of geothermal energy to Calpine Energy Solutions, reinforcing their commitment to further supporting their clients in reaching their sustainability goals. Ormat remains on track to meet its long-term targets for generation capacity growth in our Electricity segment. This new PPA with its significantly improved economics, underscores not only the robust growth in renewable power demand but also the market’s trust in our leading geothermal capabilities.”

• Region: Asia Pacific
• Topics: Geothermal
• Date: Jan 2025

Energy technology company SLB has teamed up with leading geothermal developer Star Energy Geothermal, a subsidiary of Indonesia’s renewable energy company Barito Renewables, to accelerate advanced technologies for geothermal asset development, thereby progressing the development of geothermal projects globally.

• Region: Europe
• Topics: Geothermal
• Date: Jan, 2025

Europe's geothermal market has a new kid in the block with the advent of Swiss company Borobotics, which has launched an autonomous mini drilling machine as the 'world's most powerful worm'.

This 13.5 cm wide and 2.8 meters long tool that only takes up as little as a parking space is capable of empowering Europe with the mass adoption of geothermal energy, as the country seeks greener alternatives for electricity generation. 

While deep drilling requiring large rigs is a costly affair, Borobotics' tool can hit a maximum depth of 500 m -- enough to meet the rising demand for geothermal heat pumps. A handy tool to install, its operation doesn't require manual support as it evaluates its moves while penetrating the ground. The tool is equipped with sensors that can detect obstacles such as water or methane, and seal the bore accordingly.

Borobotics came to being in 2023, and with its first funding, is planning to test the robot in real conditions. 

• Region: Europe
• Topics: Geothermal
• Date: Jan, 2025

In his general policy statement made to the National Assembly last week, the French Prime Minister Jean-François Bayrou stated he believes that geothermal, along with nuclear energy, will be important elements for the country’s low-carbon strategy towards the energy transition.

The Prime Minister said during his address, “Ecology is not the problem. This is the solution. The effort to be made on this crucial subject, this adaptation, France has started it better than any country in the world. For me, this is a priority, an ardent obligation that must be pursued and expanded: plan the transition by finalising our low-carbon strategy; preserving our biodiversity; to produce, but in a carbon-free way, thanks to new technologies.

“I am thinking in particular of our energy policy. This policy has one goal: carbon-free energy accessible to all. To achieve this, nuclear is an essential axis, and geothermal energy, an inexhaustible reservoir of free calories under our feet, is also an essential one.”

The French Association of Geothermal Professionals expressed their support for the Prime Minister’s statement via social media, commenting, “These words can only encourage all players in the geothermal sector to continue their daily action for the development of this carbon-free solution capable of producing heating and cooling in our buildings.”

In December 2023, France’s Ministry of Energy Transition published the finalised action plan to accelerate the development of the geothermal energy sector with the aim to support the development of the clean energy source to meet renewable heating and cooling targets for individual and collective buildings in the country. The plan is made up of 27 priority actions and 23 complementary actions aligned to eight different geothermal axes from regulatory framework to raising awareness and skillsets. The full plan can be found via this link.

• Region: Europe
• Topics: Geothermal
• Date: Jan, 2025

GeoGrid, a project devised to explore the benefits and applications of geothermal energy within the UK, has been awarded £3.7mn in funding through the Ofgem Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) to enhance energy efficiency and decarbonisation throughout the country.

Geosolutions Leeds will collaborate with Northern Powergrid, LCP Delta, E. ON Next, Leeds City Council and Star Refrigeration on the project in a bid to overcome the challenges presented by geothermal development and the energy transition, such as rising electricity demand, increasing costs and inefficiencies in the renewable sector.

Addressing demands

The GeoGrid project will use data from the University of Leeds’ Geothermal Campus living lab to further understand how long-term thermal energy storage can improve the UK energy system’s efficiency and sustainability as well as understand how the energy can be implemented on a bigger scale as a solution to the issues presented by the energy transition.

By integrating geothermal storage into the energy system, GeoGrid aims to lower network connection costs, reduce costly reinforcement and enhance grid resilience. The project will also aid in demonstrating how the interaction of geothermal systems with energy markets can strengthen the business case for district heating.

Dr Emma Bramham, Lecturer in Applied Geophysics and Structural Geology and GeoGrid Project Lead for the University of Leeds, said, “This innovative collaboration will use the University’s unique geothermal living lab facilities to explore new ways of improving energy system efficiency and sustainability.

“The ability to store excess renewable energy beneath the city’s streets will help make best use of green electricity resources and speed up the UK’s transition to net zero.”

• Region: Asia Pacific
• Topics: Geothermal
• Date: Jan, 2025

Like the majority of governments around the world, Taiwan’s is taking steps reduce its carbon footprint with a view to reaching net zero by 2050. Its strategic pathway to this goal is based on four major transition strategies in the form of ‘Energy Transition’, ‘Industrial Transition’, ‘Lifestyle Transition’, and ‘Social Transition’. These are flanked by two governance foundations of ‘Technology R&D’ and ‘Climate Legislation’ with a further ’12 Key Strategies’ to ultimately promote economic growth, drive private investment, generate green employment and achieve energy autonomy under the net zero umbrella.

• Region: Asia Pacific
• Topics: Geothermal
• Date: Jan, 2025

It is heating up in the land Down Under as an abundance of geothermal potential lies under the surface – potential that Google wants to harness in order to meet its 2030 energy goals.

• Region: North America
• Topics: Geothermal
• Date: Jan, 2025

The world has an enormous untapped source of energy beneath its surface– geothermal energy. Using advanced technology, we could generate electricity by tapping into the heat stored in the Earth’s crust. 

• Region: North America
• Topics: Geothermal
• Date: Jan, 2025

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) has announced a US$30mn programme to increase geothermal power production by unlocking superhot reservoirs deep within the Earth.

• Region: Europe
• Topics: Geothermal
• Date: Jan, 2025

The French industrial company Arverne Group, who specialise in the production of renewable underground resources, announced earlier this month that its subsidiary, Lithium de France, has agreed to acquire wellheads from global technology giant SLB for its geothermal project in Alsace.  

• Region: North America
• Topics: Geothermal
• Date: Jan, 2025

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has finalised a new categorical exclusion that will aid in the acceleration of new geothermal discovery on public lands.

• Region: North America
• Topics: Geothermal
• Date: Jan, 2025

The US Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office (LPO) has announced a conditional commitment to EnergySource Minerals LLC (ESM), via subsidiary SPV ESM ATLiS LLC (ATLiS) for a direct loan of up to US$1.36bn for the construction and operation of the ATLiS facility in Imperial County, California, which will produce lithium hydroxide from geothermal brine.