Energy · 2023

Enhanced geothermal systems

Shale drilling methods make hot dry rock a power source almost anywhere.

Hot dry rock experiments began at Fenton Hill, New Mexico in the 1970s. In 2023 Fervo Energy's Project Red in Nevada used horizontal wells and fracturing to deliver 3.5 MW, and its Cape Station in Utah targets first power in 2026.

See it in the living tree Wikipedia

Arcs above join it to what it stood on, arcs below to what it led to. The bar places this stretch on the tree's whole timeline.

What it built on 2

Shale gas revolution 1998
Binary-cycle geothermal 1967

What it led to 1

Enhanced geothermal at scale ~2034

Related measurements

The dashed line marks when it first worked.

Share of electricity from low-carbon sources Latest: 42.6 % (2025) Source: Our World in Data

World electricity generation Latest: 31.8k TWh (2025) Source: Our World in Data