University of Utah selected for $140 million DOE geothermal project

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced last week that the University of Utah would receive up to $140 million in continued funding over the next five years for innovative geothermal research and development.

A site outside of Milford, Utah, will host the Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy (FORGE) field laboratory, utilizing resources to research man-made geothermal reservoirs. The decision was three years in consideration, but the result will be the expansion of U.S. geothermal efforts.

Traditionally, those have been quite limited, due to the necessities involved: a co-existing site of suitable heat, permeability, and fluid deep underground. Those requirements have seen geothermal efforts locked to western states and around 3.8 gigawatts of electricity generation. Man-made geothermal reservoirs are a potential game changer. They can be established anywhere hot rocks are found — meaning just about anywhere.

“Enhanced geothermal systems are the future of geothermal energy, and critical investments in EGS will help advance American leadership in clean energy innovation,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry said. “Funding efforts toward the next frontier in geothermal energy technologies will help diversify the United States’ domestic energy portfolio, enhance our energy access, and increase our energy security.”

FORGE will be dedicated to the engineering of these man-made systems: their development, testing, and continual improvement.