Latest News

• Region: Europe
• Topics: Geothermal
• Date: 26 March 2025

Geothermal could transform the energy transition, yet many people still don't know much about it, meaning it’s time to rewrite the narrative, says one Swedish industry expert.

“We must reshape the narrative using storytelling and visuals to make geothermal appealing and simplify the message,” said Kristina Hagström Ilievska, chief marketing officer at Baseload Capital.

As a global investor, Baseload Capital has financed geothermal power plants across the globe, driving the industry's expansion. Its mission is to maintain a planet in balance by leading partnerships to scale up the geothermal industry. Ilievska is now on a mission to change the narrative around geothermal energy for the benefit of the whole renewable energy sector.

“Everyone is talking about quantum and AI, but no one is talking about the power needed to cool the data servers,” she said. “We are currently producing 8,000 gigawatts of electricity, and it needs to be tripled within five years. That means we have to find 16,000 gigawatts. She called it “a great opportunity” for the geothermal sector. “At least 10% of all electricity needs to be baseload,” she added.

“There is no crowd or competition in this race. There could be one hundred more companies working in geothermal, and we could all be successful.” The need for better communication within the geothermal sector spurred Ilievska to gather like-minded individuals and organisations in a bid to boost collaboration, resulting in a so-called Declaration of Communication. She said this presents the facts from half a decade of her work and explains why the industry needs a united voice and to follow clearer, actionable steps.

The aim is to have 1,000 geothermal ambassadors to sign the document, Ilievska said. She said it may be possible to learn from other industries in looking for a way forward, with geothermal facing similar branding challenges that solar once did. By studying how solar reshaped public perception — from expensive and impractical to affordable and essential — it may accelerate geothermal’s adoption, she noted. “They [the solar industry] made an exponential leap from being very expensive to being affordable. How can we do that for geothermal? There is a lot to learn; from their business models to how they used advocacy and lobbying to get their voices heard.”

• Region: North America
• Topics: Geothermal
• Date: 25 March, 2025

The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and the Government of Grenada have signed a £10mn Memorandum of Understanding to support Grenada’s geothermal test drilling, further advancing the island’s green energy development.

• Region: Europe
• Topics: Geothermal
• Date: 24 March, 2025

Despite Europe being a high-temperature geothermal resource, the European Commission has failed to harness the full potential of this technology.

• Region: North America
• Topics: Geothermal
• Date: 21 March 2025

The US Department of Defence (DoD) is exploring the possibility of developing “utility-scale” geothermal power plants to supply electricity to military bases in the United States and abroad.

• Region: North America
• Topics: Geothermal
• Date: 20 March, 2025

Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW) has released a Request for Proposals (RFP) seeking a firm to conduct a geothermal site survey and feasibility study in collaboration with the School District of Philadelphia (SDP).

• Region: Europe
• Topics: Geothermal
• Date: 19 March, 2025

Cornish Lithium has been granted planning permission to build the UK’s first commercial lithium production facility in Cornwall.

• Region: Europe
• Topics: Geothermal
• Date: 18 March, 2025

In an official letter addressed to the Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, the European Geothermal Energy Council (EGEC) commended Croatia’s leadership in geothermal energy, while outlining key steps to scale up development across the country and the European Union.

• Region: All
• Topics: Geothermal
• Date: 17 March, 2025

Syntholene Energy Corporation (Syntholene) has signed a binding Letter of Intent securing 20MW of geothermal power in a bid to deploy the world’s first geothermally-powered synthetic sustainable aviation fuel (eSAF) plant module.

• Region: North America
• Topics: Geothermal
• Date: 14 March, 2025

At the beginning of March, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) approved the Newcastle Geothermal Development project which is expected to generate up to 20MW of renewable energy for the public lands near Newcastle, Utah.

• Region: Europe
• Topics: Geothermal
• Date: 13 March, 2025

Arverne Group has announced the launch of new project testing innovative technology for surface geothermal energy.

• Region: North America
• Topics: Geothermal
• Date: 12 March, 2025

The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and New Zealand have signed a partnership agreement to advance the development of geothermal energy within the Caribbean.

• Region: Europe
• Topics: Geothermal
• Date: 11 March 2025

A healthcare authority in Scotland, NHS Grampian, is exploring the potential for heating public facilities across Aberdeen using geothermal energy.

A feasibility study into the idea is now being carried out by TownRock Energy, in partnership with NHS Grampian, with £50,000 (US$65,000) in funding from the Scottish government’s Sustainable Estates team. The desktop study will look at whether local sites could provide a viable spot for one or more boreholes to harness naturally occurring sustainable energy from the rock thousands of metres underground. According to a statement by NHS Grampian, the idea could work in a similar way to the Eden Project’s heating system, a flagship eco project in the UK, where a hole just 25 cm wide delivers heat to one of the world’s largest indoor rainforests.

It said that geothermal energy has the potential to support not only health care facilities in Aberdeen but other public buildings too. “It’s estimated there’s enough untapped deep geothermal energy to heat the whole of the UK, and we’re hoping to provide a leading example here in Aberdeen,” said Alan Wilson, director of infrastructure and sustainability at NHS Grampian. “It works by pumping cold water down which comes back hot enough to heat our buildings. It’s renewable, safe and has a low impact on the surrounding landscape because the hole is so narrow.”

David Townsend, TownRock Energy CEO, said the sites the company is now exploring have been identified as potentially having the right geology for deep geothermal heat and power. He said the feasibility study is enabling it to look depth and build a business case with NHS Grampian for wider development. “We’re considering whether the geothermal wells would have to go 2 km, 3 km or 5 km down. What we’re not sure of yet is whether the ground may still be super cooled from the last ice age and how deep this cooling extends into the ground. If predictions are right, we may see a sudden increase in temperature at depths greater than 2 km,” he said. “When people hear the word geothermal, they often think about active volcanic and tectonic areas, like Iceland or Italy, where hot rocks have been producing power for over a hundred years. But recent advances in engineering mean that lower temperature resources in geologically stable regions are now usable. It’s hoped that this could be the case for Aberdeen.”

It is also fitting, perhaps, that the project is taking place in Aberdeen, for years known as the capital of Scotland’s offshore oil and gas industry, but a place now moving into new, sustainable alternative areas including supporting the growth of the UK’s wind sector. Wilson added that geothermal technology is also evolving rapidly, in countries like the Netherlands and the USA, which makes it an exciting opportunity in Aberdeen. “This study is the very first step in what would be a long journey, but it could help us make progress towards becoming a net zero organisation,” he said. “We’re working to change the way we use NHS buildings and land more widely. Curbing emissions and supporting biodiversity ultimately supports public health by delivering less pollution, cleaner air and cleaner water.”

He added, “We already have a biomass boiler at the Foresterhill Health Campus which contributes to a district heating network with Royal Cornhill Hospital. But we also continue to use a lot of gas. Test of change projects using a range of technologies have and will continue to transform lighting, insulation, heat sources and renewable energy generation for our buildings.” Scotland’s Health Secretary, Neil Gray, welcomed NHS Grampian’s commitment to decarbonisation of energy for its buildings. “The Scottish Government have set targets for NHS Scotland to achieve a 75% reduction in building energy use compared to the 1990 baseline by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2040,” he said.