🗞️ Axios AM: Geothermal's massive untapped potential - btbirkett@gmail.com - Gmail

🗞️ Axios AM: Washington Post scoop - btbirkett@gmail.com - Gmail

2. 🌋 Geothermal's massive untapped potential

Illustration: Tiffany Herring/Axios

Geothermal energy — steam or very hot water from underground reservoirs — eventually could meet up to 15% of the growth in global power demand. But a lot has to break right, Axios' Ben Geman writes from a new analysis. Why it matters: Technological advances — including horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracking, honed through oil and gas breakthroughs in North America — could help geothermal to shed its niche status, the International Energy Agency says in a new report. 🔬 Zoom in: Making geothermal competitive means greater government policy support, specialized labor and major cost declines. "Up to 80% of the investment required in a geothermal project involves capacity and skills that are common in the oil and gas industry," the report notes. IEA finds that with the "right support," next-generation geothermal could get 80% cheaper by 2035. That could make costs on "par or below hydro, nuclear and bioenergy." Reality check: Geothermal currently provides 1% of global electricity, and is concentrated in a few countries — the U.S., Iceland, Indonesia, Turkey, Kenya and Italy.