Leveraging Hot Rocks for a Cooler Planet: Reducing Administrative Barriers to Geothermal Energy Production
Martin Koch
The power of the Earth’s internal heat reserves is strikingly apparent to anyone who has visited a mesmerizing volcanic lava flow in Hawaii, felt the thunderous eruption of a geyser at Yellowstone National Park, or listened to Bjork’s 2015 concept album Vulnicultura. Less well known is the technological capacity to convert this untamed energy into a clean and reliable power source. Due mainly to growth in data center construction, the U.S. is currently experiencing the largest sustained surge in demand for electricity since the beginning of the 21st century.[1] Finding a way to meet this demand in a sustainable way is likely to be a key priority in mitigating climate change.
Geothermal energy is a perfect complement to intermittent renewable resources since it provides a steady baseload source of electricity without releasing greenhouse gases or air pollutants.[2] It can operate on a year-round basis, producing energy day or night for decades.[3] Nuclear power can fulfill this role as well, but geothermal plants can be constructed more quickly and avoid potential environmental concerns associated with radiation.[4] The U.S. Department of Energy has estimated that by 2050 geothermal energy could supply an amount of power equivalent to one-quarter of today’s electricity generation capacity.[5] Geothermal is readily adaptable to serve in a cogeneration capacity, which this allows a single geothermal installation to provide both steam for turbines that generate electricity and heat for industrial and climate control purposes.[6]
Geothermal is well-suited to help sustain the economies of communities that depend on fossil fuels for their livelihood. Drilling geothermal wells leverages the same geology and engineering skillsets already present in many oil and gas workers.[7] Many technological innovations already proven to support hydraulic fracturing can be efficiently repurposed to support geothermal exploration. New technologies, such as the use of microwaves to vaporize rocks, are also potentially available.[8] In a unique synergy, abandoned oil wells dubbed “Wells of Opportunity” have even been recycled to serve as geothermal infrastructure, in one case providing heat for a school near Tuttle, OK.[9] This provides simultaneous environmental benefits of carbon-free energy and suppression of air and water pollution from uncapped petroleum wells.[10]
Like subsurface exploration for petroleum, drilling a geothermal well begins with the injection of fluid into underground rock to create many small fractures and expand the accessible surface area.[11] However, rather than extracting nonrenewable fossil fuels, geothermal drillers pump water into these newly created fissures, which exposes the water to temperatures so high as to transform the water into steam.[12] The underground heat is provided by the continuous transfer of thermal energy from the Earth’s core (which reaches temperatures of six thousand degrees Celsius) to the surface, a process that dates back to the Earth’s initial creation and is expected to continue for billions of years.[13] The resulting steam is then piped to the surface, leveraged to turn a turbine or supply a heat exchanger, then returned underground as liquid water in a loop that maximizes efficiency.
Regulatory developments, in addition to technological developments, can help geothermal energy succeed. In the seven states with active geothermal power plants (California, Hawaii, Idaho, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, and Utah), an average of 45 percent of land area is owned by the federal government, nearly twice the proportion of federal land compared to the U.S. as a whole.[14] Many sites with abundant geothermal resources are located on land controlled by the Bureau of Land Management. Investing in staff capacity to review BLM permits could help expedite responsible use of geothermal resources on federal land.[15] Geothermal development is currently covered by emergency permitting authorities to accelerate the development of domestic energy resources and critical minerals related to the President’s declaration of a national energy emergency.[16] However, legislation to solidify these procedures on a permanent basis would provide greater certainty for the industry.
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is a focus point for permitting reform more broadly and geothermal development in particular. The leasing, exploration, wellfield drilling, and utilization stages of geothermal projects require review under NEPA whenever they trigger ground disturbance.[17] NEPA review documentation, known as an Environmental Assessment (EA) or Environmental Impact Assessment (EIS), can require years to prepare, endangering the financial viability of a project.[18] It is important to note that this review process is purely procedural in that it does not require a project to comply with explicit technical standards or pass an environmental cost/benefit analysis.[19] For instance, due to exemptions contained in the Energy Policy Act of 2005, many activities associated with fossil fuel exploration on federal lands are subject to a presumption of eligibility for a Categorical Exclusion (CATEX).[20] A CATEX (or CX) is a designation that dramatically reduces the administrative burden associated with NEPA review. For instance, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has estimated that expanding the use of CX for geothermal projects could help reduce the projected project development timeline by 50%.[21] A California case study found that expediting NEPA review in combination with more efficient state permitting could reduce the cost of geothermal electricity by up to 11%, increasing the available revenue by up to $227 million.[22]
As early as 2014, the NREL identified expansion of CX as a strategy to facilitate geothermal exploration.[23] More recently, examples of legislation to strengthen BLM review capacity, deploy CX where appropriate, and set expedited timelines for permit review have been introduced by members of Congress from both parties.[24] More broadly, the FREEDOM Act introduced in the House of Representatives in February 2026 would require the Secretary of the Interior to promulgate regulations and establish a federal permitting process to allow for simultaneous, concurrent consideration of multiple phases of a geothermal project.[25] It would also amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to provide geothermal exploration activities parity with oil and gas drilling in terms of presumed CX application.[26] Further proactive steps of this nature could help geothermal energy diversity our country’s energy mix by furthering the electrification of cars, heating systems, and home appliances. It could also help mitigate electricity price increases by supplying the growing demand for power prompted by data center expansion. Through savvy regulatory reforms, our country’s long-term clean energy future could be sourced from some of the Earth’s oldest rock layers.
[1] Press Release, U.S. Energy Info. Admin., EIA forecasts strongest four-year growth in U.S. electricity demand since 2000, fueled by data centers (Jan. 13, 2026), https://www.eia.gov/pressroom/releases/press582.php.
[2] Kathrin Menberg, Florian Heberle, Sebastian Grünaugl, Hannah Uhrmann, Dieter Brüggemann, Peter Bayer & Christoph Bott. Environmental impact of cogeneration in binary geothermal plants, 218 RENEWABLE ENERGY (2023) at 1, 2.
[3] “Energy Transition: What Role can Geothermal Power Play?” Thought Leadership. Clifford Chance (Dec. 2023), https://www.cliffordchance.com/ content/dam/cliffordchance/briefings/2023/12/energy-transition-what-role-can-geothermal-power-play.pdf (on file with MJEAL).
[4] Jordan, Rob. Press Release, Stan. Woods Inst. for the Environment, Heat from deep underground could help power global clean energy transition (January 29, 2026). https://woods.stanford.edu/news/heat-deep-underground-could-help-power-global-clean-energy-transition (on file with MJEAL).
[5] Joel Jaeger, Katrina McLaughlin, Lori Bird & Karl Hausker, Next-Generation Geothermal Can Help Unlock 100% Clean Power, World Resources Institute, https://www.wri.org/insights/next-generation-geothermal-energy-explained (on file with MJEAL).
[6] Kathrin Menberg, Florian Heberle, Sebastian Grünaugl, Hannah Uhrmann, Dieter Brüggemann, Peter Bayer & Christoph Bott. Environmental impact of cogeneration in binary geothermal plants, 218 Renewable Energy, December 2023, at 1, 1.
[7] Team, Fervo Energy (2026), https://fervoenergy.com/team/ (last visited Feb. 26, 2026) (on file with MJEAL).
[8] Clifford Chance, supra note 3.
[9] Wells of Opportunity, U.S. Dept. of Energy, https://www.energy.gov/hgeo/geothermal/wells-opportunity (last visited Feb. 27, 2026) (on file with MJEAL).
[10] Clifford Chance, supra note 3.
[11] Mark Z. Jacobson, Daniel J. Sambor, Yuanbei F. Fan, Andreas Mühlbauer & Genevieve C. DiBari. The impact of enhanced geothermal systems on transitioning all energy sectors in 150 countries to 100% clean, renewable energy, 100611 Cell Rep. Sustainability, Jan. 19, 2026 at 1, 1-2.
[12] Id.
[13] Exploring geothermal energy as a sustainable source of energy: A systemic review – ScienceDirect
[14] Neeley, Josiah & Philip Rossetti, “State Permitting Challenges: Geothermal,” Real Solutions, The R Street Institute (Aug. 5, 2024), https://www.rstreet.org/commentary/state-permitting-challenges-geothermal/ (last visited February 26, 2026) (on file).
[15] Ann Garth, Thoughtful permitting reform can help expand next-generation geothermal, Clean Air Task Force (Dec. 16, 2025), https://www.catf.us/2025/12/thoughtful-permitting-reform-can-help-expand-next-generation-geothermal/ (last visited February 26, 2026).
[16] Department of the Interior Implements Emergency Permitting Procedures to Strengthen Domestic Energy Supply, U.S. Department of the Interior (June 4, 2025), https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/department-interior-implements-emergency-permitting-procedures-strengthen-domestic (last visited February 26, 2026).
[17] Levine, Aaron, Ligia E.P. Smith, Jody Robins, Erik Witter, Caity Smith & Clare Haffner, Non-Technical Barriers to Geothermal Development in California and Nevada, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (Oct. 2022), at 1, 8.
[18] Id., see 62.
[19] Ben Schifman, Breaking the NEPA Litigation Doom Loop by reforming remedies in NEPA cases, Inst. for Progress (Feb. 19, 2026), https://ifp.org/breaking-the-nepa-litigation-doom-loop/ (on file with MJEAL).
[20] Energy Policy Act of 2005 § 390, 42 U.S.C. § 15942.
[21] Regulatory Reform Could Unlock Gigawatts of Zero-Emission Geothermal, ClearPath, https://clearpath.org/tech-101/regulatory-reform-could-unlock-gigawatts-of-zero-emission-geothermal/ (last visited Feb. 27, 2026) (on file with MJEAL).
[22] Neeley & Rossetti, supra note 14.
[23] Aaron Levine & Katherine R. Young, Geothermal Development and the Use of Categorical Exclusions Under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, Nat’l Renewable Energy Lab’y (Sep. 30, 2014), https://docs.nlr.gov/docs/fy14osti/62624.pdf.
[24] Garth, supra note 15.
[25] H.R.7329, 119th Cong. (2026).
[26] Id.