Geothermal energy gets bipartisan push as AI data centers hunt for power
Democrats and Republicans are both backing faster permits for geothermal power, as tech companies pay a premium for round-the-clock electricity to run AI data centers.
What happened: A bipartisan Senate bill introduced last month would fast-track permits for geothermal energy, going further than similar reforms offered to wind and solar. It would ease federal land leasing, speed up drilling approvals, and exempt some activities from environmental review. A similar package already passed the House this summer, co-sponsored by lawmakers as different as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Mike Kennedy. Geothermal also kept its federal clean-energy tax credits in last year's Republican tax law, even as credits for wind and solar were phased out faster.
Why it matters: Geothermal taps heat from underground rock to generate electricity continuously, day and night, without the weather dependence of wind or solar. That steadiness is exactly what AI data centers need, and tech companies are reportedly willing to pay extra for it. The result is a rare alignment: Democrats like the renewable, carbon-free angle; Republicans like that it reuses oil-and-gas drilling know-how; utilities and tech firms like that it just keeps running.
How it works, plainly: Newer geothermal techniques borrow fracking methods from oil and gas to crack open hot rock in places without natural hot springs or volcanoes, widening where plants can be built. Fervo Energy, founded by a former drilling engineer, is the leading example and went public this year. Its executives say construction costs at its flagship Utah project run about half those of a new nuclear plant, though underground heat can fade over time and require costly extra drilling.
The rollout: Money is pouring in: global geothermal financing rose from about $126 million in 2021 to roughly $3.9 billion so far in 2026, much of it tied to Fervo's $2.2 billion IPO. Average winning bids for federal geothermal leases jumped from $10 an acre in 2023 to $182 this year, with one Utah parcel hitting $1,207 an acre. But geothermal still supplies under 1% of U.S. electricity, Fervo's stock has dropped nearly 70% since its IPO, and the sector's current momentum leans heavily on state clean-energy mandates and tech-company willingness to pay above-market prices, according to former Energy Department official Jigar Shah.