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Deep Geothermal Makes Dramatic Progress; Virtually Unlimited Potential [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2025-09-11

INTRO: Daily kos readers have a long history of interest in alternative energy, like me. My extra incentive is that my late father was a geologist, specializing in Uranium and precious metals. I got a life-long grounding in earth sciences, and therefore understand most of the science involved. But I’ll readily admit that the science and function of the Gyrotron is above my head. Nevertheless, I hope this post will better inform Kossacks about the rapidly-emerging new entrant to the field of renewable energy.

First, a quick definition of shallow geothermal energy is this: hot water, steam, or mudpots supplying energy from sources at or near the earths surface, and to 400 meters below the surface. By contrast, deep geothermal energy refers to hot water or rock below 400 meters from the surface, and usually far deeper, typically 4-12 miles below the surface.

This week Quaise Energy, a leader in “deep geothermal” energy, announced successful completion of it’s Texas field trials of its microwave drilling system. Powered by a Gryotron, a device first used in fusion research to superheat plasma, the Gyrotron was paired with an oil drilling rig to bore through solid rock. This is the first step in reaching geothermal waters (or rock) far below the surface.

Most people are well aware of surface geothermal features like hot springs, geysers such as Old Faithful at Yellowstone National Park. Many others are familiar with cabins, homes, or businesses heated by shallow geothermal wells. Virtually all of those rely on hot water sources less than 400 feet from the surface. “Deep geothermal” (or DG) refers to super-hot rock and/or water four to twelve miles below the surface.

Why does it matter? It’s important to for several reasons. First, the world needs more access to energy supplies, and DG provides access to a virtually unlimited supply of renewable energy. Second, it is clean, in sharp contrast to coal and oil. Third, DG provides baseload power 24/7 for any utility. Fourth, once built, geothermal plants create no waste or greenhouse gasses. Fifth, it can eventually replace most of the coal-fired and oil or gas-fired turbines now in use. Finally, it can be used in most parts of the world, on any continent where it is practical to build such a plant. So aside from rivers, lakes, and mountains, DG can be located in almost any area of the world.

DG has one more huge advantage over other energy sources: its low cost over time. The Levelized cost of Energy (LCoE) is basically the all-in price tag of 1MWh of electricity over the lifetime of the plant. At a LCoE of US$50-100, Deep Geothermal is very competitive in the US. As with solar & wind power, there is no fuel cost- another part of the beauty of all geothermal energy!

Within the US, utility-scale solar and onshore wind are the cheapest ways to produce electricity, ranging from $24 to $96 per MWH depending on the location. Natural gas, our main source of electricity generation at around 43.1%, ranges from $39-101 per MWh. Coal-fired plants are considerably more expensive, ranging from $68-166 per MWH. That high cost is a key reason many coal-fired plants have been retired . Nuclear power is arguably one of our cleanest sources of electricity, and is the second most-used means to generate electricity (about 18.6%), and its costs range from $141-221 per MWh. The hardest part of DG (Deep Geothermal) is getting there. Drilling through even two miles of rock, let alone ten to twelve miles deep, is a daunting task. Conventional drilling gets geometrically more expensive as depth increases. Harder rock, higher pressures, and increasingly hotter rock at depth are insurmountable at this point for those rigs in use for the past 150 or so years. About 15 years ago, MIT engineers came up with a novel solution- microwave transmitters which were integrated in the Gyrotron. The Gyrotron was (and still is) used to super-heat plasma for fusion reactors. Essentially, it’s a powerful microwave transmitter enclosed in a tube. At MIT (Mass. Institute of Technology), Paul Waskov, a research engineer at MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center, had a lightbulb moment in 2008 about using the Gyrotron to replace conventional drilling. That year, Waskov began experimenting with using Gyrotron to bore thru solid rock. After about 10 years of research, his work came to the attention of Carlos Araque ‘01, SM ‘02, who had spent his career in the oil and gas industry, and was the technical director of MIT’s investment fund The Engine at the time. That year, Araque and Matt Houde, who’d been working with geothermal company Altarock Energy, founded Quaise. shortly thereafter, Quaise received a Dept. of Energy grant to scale up Woskov’s experiments using a larger Gyrotron. That patented device- the Gyrotron, was re-purposed as part of a new drill-set to allow drilling (vaporizing the rock, to be more accurate) to DG targets. In short, Quaise used the device on a conventional drill rig to bore 4” diameter holes thru up to 30 feet of rock. Next steps included drilling to 40’, then moving to a granite deposit near Marble Falls, TX for further testing. There they “drilled” 130 meters (about 425 feet) into the granite outcrop for the first time outside the lab. That site, at Marble Falls, Texas, is now hosting demonstrations for Quaise to enlist new investors to allow further development. Link to graphics of the Gyrotron: encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/… The prize for deep drilling is the super-hot rock at that depth. Why so deep? The answer is that at that depth, pressures heat the rock and any existing water to very high temperatures. At 12 miles deep, temperatures can reach 500 degrees Celsius, or over 930 degrees Fahrenheit. At 373*C and 220 bars, water becomes supercritical water, and at that state, water has properties of both gas and liquids. In practical terms, it means that the water resource has 5-10 times the power density relative to shallow geothermal power plants. Put another way, that power density allows DG plants to replace coal & oil power at existing but shuttered power plants. Beyond that, it could potentially build new geothermal power plants at almost anywhere in the world- where about 90% of the land is potentially suitable for such power.

Next Phase:

Quaise plans to pilot the plant near Bend, Oregon, and hopes to have it ready by 2028. Nabors, which is in a partnership with Quaise, sees it as a very timely play.

While the wait is difficult for many of us, developing the technology and raising the vast amounts of capitol needed takes time. But Quaise believes that in just over two years, their pilot plant in Bend will be in operation. The potential is unlimited!

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*** Note: Most of the material I used is from the Quaise Energy website, www.quaise.com. I also used Google for several parts of the post.

** Note# 2. I am not in any way, shape, or form taking over renewable energy info on DK, nor replacing Mokurai’s very fine and valuable posts on the topics. This is one-off for me as I venture into freelance writing on a few science & political topics.

(H/T to Mokurai, and to Meteor Blades)

OK, Kos readers are now invited to comment and ask questions on my post. Almost anything goes- within the normal limits of the DK guidelines. Thanks for being here!!!

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