Geothermal drilling a green new deal for both sides
Unemployment numbers so dire they have no close comparison in the historical record. A looming global recession. Trillions of dollars of stimulus, and more coming. Negative oil prices. The U.S. economy is facing unprecedented headwinds, no doubt. But amid all this uncertainty lies a unique and compelling energy proposition. This may be an inflection point that, if properly supported and incentivized, could kick off a clean energy boom that saves jobs and pushes the U.S. clean energy portfolio into the heretofore unimaginable territory of terawatts. Let’s drill for clean energy.
The core of the earth is a molten ball of energy nearing the temperature of the surface of the sun. All that heat is conducted to the surface, and when tapped along the way can be utilized for all types of useful pursuits, among them electricity production. Importantly, geothermal energy is available 24/7 — it’s a dependable clean energy source. To reach temperatures needed to economically produce geothermal energy, one need drill only a few hundred or thousand feet in some places in the world (think Iceland and California). In others, tapping the resource requires deeper and more technically complex drilling operations.
A “green drilling” boom may appear a misnomer, but the fact is we have been overlooking a ubiquitous, near limitless clean energy source that has the potential to provide many times the energy the world needs. And importantly, drilling for and producing those resources at scale will require an army of drilling crews, skilled service workers, exploration and production expertise and the like. Where will we get such an army? It just so happens that there are legions of assets and workers in the oil and gas industry who have suddenly found themselves free for new opportunities, tailor-made for the job and poised to build a clean and secure energy future for the United States.
The prospect is that in the short to medium term, we aim the immense intellectual capital and increasingly idle equipment of the oil and gas industry toward the low hanging fruit in geothermal energy development — the “shovel ready” projects that could get going quickly and help preserve oil and gas jobs — a modern-day energy infrastructure effort akin to the Hoover Dam initiative during the Great Depression. The Center for Strategic and International Studies recently published a piece advocating that we focus on the rig crews in oil country in any stimulus for the industry. We could not agree more. Let’s save jobs and get crews back to work drilling for geothermal energy.
In the longer term, we could provide incentives to spur development of capabilities to address the more technically challenging geothermal targets. These will further increase the scale. The only folks who have the domain understanding to accomplish this are in the beleaguered oil and gas industry. Instead of the politically unpalatable oil and gas industry “bailout” that is the subject of breathless discussion in Washington — we should be thinking in terms of tax credits and zero percent interest loans for geothermal energy development and production and investment in research and development for next generation geothermal concepts. Let’s use this moment to support the industry while supporting development of our clean energy economy.
Just as the tragedy of World War II compelled the federal government to team up with private industry to rebuild the U.S. economy, a robust government and industry effort is needed today to restructure and ensure U.S. energy security with a strong green foundation. Let’s get the oil and gas industry, geothermal industry and the Department of Energy together now to lay out a framework for robust collaboration. The potential of this
“Green Drilling New Deal” to bring both sides of the aisle together is compelling. It is a naturally bipartisan concept that is a rare and hugely impactful winwin.
We must act fast to make this happen. Sustained periods of dormancy in the oil and gas industry causes permanent loss of personnel and equipment, and with it goes our strategically important energy security. Every day that passes results in job losses and idle equipment in the oil and gas industry, capabilities that once lost may not return. Since we cannot unilaterally act to address COVID-19 related demand destruction for oil and gas, we are left with the option of creating demand for the expertise and services of the industry in a new energy sector. As good fortune would have it, utility scale geothermal energy is now ready for prime time. Let’s get moving.
Rao is a former senior vice president and chief technology officer at Halliburton. He now serves as the executive director of the Research Triangle Energy Consortium. Cook is former chief scientist for well engineering and production technology at Shell. He now serves as the managing partner at Metis Energy, and he advises startups and entrepreneurs engaged in energy transition.