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The article discusses the political divide in the US over renewable energy sources, with Democrats generally favoring wind and solar renewable energy and Republicans opposing them. The piece highlights bipartisan support for geothermal energy, due to its similarities with the oil and gas industry. It also mentions the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which provides incentives for installing renewable energy, including geothermal, and cites the growth of geothermal projects in states such as New York, Massachusetts, and Colorado.
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In the United States, wind and solar energies are considered political hot-button topics. These renewable energy sources are seen favorably by Democrats, but Republicans typically oppose them. Despite the billions of dollars invested and the nearly half-million jobs created by these renewable energy industries, the current administration is making efforts to halt their expansion.
However, there is a different form of renewable energy that is uniquely free from this partisanship: geothermal energy. The reason for its broad support is its similarity to the oil and gas industries, in terms of both the job types involved and the equipment used. This makes the transition to geothermal energy an attractive option for the oil and gas sector.
The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act has encouraged the use of renewable energy, including geothermal, by offering incentives. Although many of these incentives were scaled back or even discontinued during the Trump administration, those for geothermal remained largely untouched.
How Does Geothermal Energy Work?
Geothermal energy harnesses the Earth’s continual underground temperature, which averages around 55 degrees. Using pipes and liquids, heat is drawn from this underground source for warming purposes and the liquid is then returned underground for cooling. By doing so, geothermal heat pumps significantly decrease the need for other energy sources to heat and cool buildings.
The largest geothermal system in the United States can be found in Verona, Wisconsin. A total of 6,000 boreholes have been drilled hundreds of feet into the ground to heat and cool a 410-acre campus. This is just one example of the increasing number of geothermal projects underway in the country. States like New York, Massachusetts, and Colorado are seeing a positive trend in the use of geothermal energy.
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