41 SEPTEMBER 2024 WorldWide Drilling Resource® www.starironworks.com 257 Caroline Street Punxsutawney, PA 15767 800-927-0560 • 814-427-2555 Fax: 814-427-5164 SERVING THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY Serving the Drilling Industry Geothermal and the Lone Star State Adapted from Information by The University of Texas at Austin Texas is hot, and not just the climate. The earth’s core reaches a scorching 10,832ºF (6000ºC), which is similar to the sun’s surface temperature. The earth’s crust functions as a remarkable insulator, protecting the surface from the immense heat beneath it. The amount of heat beneath our feet is estimated to be many thousands of times larger than what we would need to power not only Texas, but the world. Drilling deep enough at just about every point on earth, can yield electricity-producing temperatures. Geothermal energy is an untapped subsurface giant waiting to be harnessed. With a small footprint and resilient design, geothermal power plants are built to last, and can withstand, most attacks from nature or manmade threats. Geothermal energy provides consistent and reliable power, allowing it to serve as a baseload service without the need for storage. By leveraging the existing global giant of the gas and oil industry in Texas, geothermal energy could be quickly scaled into terawatts. Texas presents a significant opportunity for geothermal development. Over the past two decades, significant technological advancements have enabled the “shale boom” in the gas and oil industry. New technologies such as horizontal drilling, multistage fracturing, and managed pressure drilling over the past 20 years, can be applied in the geothermal context, opening up possibilities for rapid progress through collaboration and technology transfer from gas and oil projects. Geothermal development is becoming more feasible on a global scale for gas and oil entities, given the full leverage and optimization of past expertise. With more geothermal startups emerging in the past two years than in the previous ten, geothermal entrepreneurship is expecting a renaissance, largely driven by gas and oil investments, and led by industry veterans. Several of these companies are planning, or currently executing, pilot projects and demonstrations in Texas. In 2022, 73% of Texas voters considered power and electricity grid issues as the second most critical policy concern. Texas voters show strong support for geothermal energy, but more education is needed to raise awareness of its potential. Innovative advancements in drilling and subsurface engineering have transformed the gas and oil industry, paving the way for new opportunities. GEO
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