The Department of Defense (DoD) continues to lay the groundwork to deploy new geothermal technologies across military installations to support mission assurance and support increased power generation to meet the growing demand for energy.
This initiative ultimately aims to de-risk geothermal development and catalyze geothermal power plant construction across DoD installations to provide round-the-clock power a critical need as DoD installations and our national electrical grids face growing threats from wildfires, extreme weather, cyberattacks, power storages, and other disruptions.
The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) has partnered on this geothermal development initiative with the U.S. Air Force, Army, Navy, and Marines. Six geothermal developers have ongoing agreements via DIU for this effort: Eavor, Fervo Energy, Greenfire Energy, Sage Geosystems, Teverra, and Zanskar. Additionally, DIU is collaborating with the Department of Energy Geothermal Technologies Office, the Department of Interior, Geothermal Trade Associations, Utilities, and State Energy Offices to support progress across the industry to accelerate geothermal development.
"DIU has helped catalyze multiple geothermal initiatives at DoD installations via our existing Other Transaction Authority agreements with various geothermal industry partners," said Michael Callahan, DIU senior energy advisor and program manager. "While there are challenges to solve and limited resources, we're optimistic that collectively we'll be able to overcome the hurdles to ultimately accelerate the speed and scale to deploy new geothermal energy technologies to support national security and baseload energy demand."
Wellhead and cooling towers at Zanskar's Lighting Dock geothermal power plant in Animas, New Mexico. Photo courtesy of Michael Callahan, DIU.
The initiative has involved stakeholders across more than twelve DoD installations from all the DoD services and in six U.S. states. A few but not all updates include:
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Fervo Energy completed conceptual plans for deploying their Enhanced Geothermal System at Naval Air Station Fallon, NV.
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GreenFire Energy is developing site-specific geothermal concept designs using advanced subsurface modeling technologies at Naval Air Facility El Centro and will evaluate geothermal energy development potential at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twenty-Nine Palms and Sierra Army Depot, all in CA.
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Sage Geosystems, in partnership with the University of Texas Bureau of Economic Geology, completed reservoir modeling and conceptual designs for Sage's geopressured geothermal energy system in TX, at Army Garrison Fort Bliss and Naval Air Station Corpus Christi.
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Teverra, LLC will develop plans and ultimately implement an exploration drilling campaign at the Army's White Sands Missile Range, NM, building on past geothermal exploration activities.
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Zanskar Geothermal & Minerals, Inc is collecting geophysical data and using their specialized AI models to complement drilling plans to assess the potential for geothermal development at Mountain Home Air Force Base, ID.
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Additional updates and new sites to be announced.
Additionally, DIU is collaborating with the DoD Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP), the Department of Energy Geothermal Technologies Office, the Department of Interior, Geothermal Trade Associations, Utilities, and State Energy Offices to support progress across the industry to accelerate geothermal development.
By deploying geothermal technology at DoD bases today, we are investing in a more resilient and affordable energy future for our nation.
