How geothermal gets built

Geothermal seems to be nearing an inflection point. With rising load growth, clean, firm power is more valuable than ever. Next-gen geothermal players like Fervo Energy and Sage Geosystems are signing PPAs with major tech firms. Even U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright — a known critic of renewables — has praised the potential of geothermal. The size of the U.S. geothermal resource accessible through next-gen geothermal technologies like enhanced-geothermal systems is enormous — potentially thousands of gigawatts. But tapping into it hinges on figuring out the economics. So what does it actually take to develop a geothermal project — and how are new tools reshaping the process? In this episode, Shayle talks to Carl Hoiland, co-founder and CEO of geothermal energy company Zanskar, which uses AI for enhanced geothermal exploration. Shayle and Carl cover topics like: Why geothermal stalled — and what’s changing now The full step-by-step process of developing a project How to avoid exploration risk, also known as dry hole risk Methods for estimating resource size and managing depletion risk The geothermal supply chain How permitting is speeding up Carl’s outlook for when and where development is likely to happen Resources: Latitude Media: Geothermal could meet 64% of hyperscale data center power demand Latitude Media: Why geothermal might benefit from Trump’s tariffs The Green Blueprint: How a text message launched a geothermal revolution in Utah Latitude Media: The geothermal industry has a potential ally in Chris Wright Latitude Media: Why California lawmakers are warming to geothermal Credits: Hosted by Shayle Kann. Produced and edited by Daniel Woldorff. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is executive editor. Catalyst is brought to you by Anza, a platform enabling solar and storage developers and buyers to save time, reduce risk, and increase profits in their equipment selection process. Anza gives clients access to pricing, technical, and risk data plus tools that they’ve never had access to before. Learn more at go.anzarenewables.com/latitude. Catalyst is brought to you by EnergyHub. EnergyHub helps utilities build next-generation virtual power plants that unlock reliable flexibility at every level of the grid. See how EnergyHub helps unlock the power of flexibility at scale, and deliver more value through cross-DER dispatch with their leading Edge DERMS platform, by visiting energyhub.com.