Energy · around 2034

Enhanced geothermal at scale

Projection

Drilling rigs borrowed from the shale industry tap hot rock almost anywhere for firm clean power.

Enhanced geothermal systems fracture hot, dry rock and circulate water through it, turning heat miles down into steady electricity. At scale it would add round-the-clock clean power in regions with no volcanic resources.

Why it’s plausible: Horizontal drilling and fracturing know-how from oil and gas already transfers directly; the open questions are drilling cost at depth, well longevity and managing induced seismicity.

See it in the living treeWikipedia