E&E News
Summary
Geothermal companies and scientists have looked for years at different ways to generate geothermal energy, but the research is now drifting in a new direction: fossil fuels.
State research officials in North Dakota are examining two new options — pairing geothermal with active oil and gas sites and using captured carbon dioxide as a feedstock for geothermal power production.
The North Dakota Industrial Commission in June greenlit a $250,000 feasibility study to look into whether those two new geothermal technologies could be used in the state.
Bipartisan support for geothermal power — along with federal tax incentives for geothermal and carbon capture and storage, or CCS, projects — created an environment where companies and researchers can start to explore different methods of production, said Matt Villante, an earth scientist with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
“Learning from these first-of-a-kind demonstration projects is really critical to moving the sector forward,” Villante said at a recent webinar hosted by the U.S. Energy Association. “There is extensive support for both geothermal and CCS around the globe, but also in the United States.”
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