U.S. DOE awards $338 M to accelerate geothermal development

In Washington, DC, the Department of Energy announced funds to support 123 projects in 39 states that will the development of domestic geothermal energy. The projects will get a total of $338 million Recovery Act funding in support of project and technology deployment and data collection. In addition, the monies will be matched more than one-for-one with an additional $353 million in private and non-Federal cost-share funds.

The grants will go to private industry, academic institutions, tribal entities, local governments, and DOE National Labs in six research categories: Innovative Exploration and Drilling (to $98.1 million); Coproduced, Geopressured, and Low Temperature (to $20.7 million); Enhanced Geothermal Systems Demonstrations (to $51.4 million); Enhanced Geothermal Systems Components Research and Development / Analysis (to $81.5 million); Geothermal Data Development, Collection and Maintenance (to $24.6 million); and Ground Source Heat Pump Demonstrations (to $61.9 million).