Four Mountain West states join forces to accelerate geothermal energy development

With a newly established Mountain West Geothermal Consortium, Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico are joining forces to tap what could be hundreds of gigawatts of always on, clean energy lying underground in the Mountain West region.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican, and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, announced the new group on Wednesday after a Western Governor’s Association “energy superabundance” workshop citing the latest updates on geothermal technology in the region, and what it could become if investment is accelerated.

Geothermal projects have the “bipartisan support of an energy source that we haven’t had in a long time,” Cox said during a news conference. 

Geothermal is a type of renewable energy that converts heat from under the surface of the earth into electricity. In Utah, multiple projects and technologies are being deployed, including Fervo’s enhanced geothermal system, which is on track to generate about 100 megawatts of operating capacity by early 2027 in Beaver County, according to Cox.

The consortium will bring together state officials from Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico, and according to a fact sheet from the organization, is expected to provide state officials with coordinated insights and resources to accelerate geothermal development. And, the group will seek for states to “develop creative finance tools and clear regulatory regimes to help de-risk this investment and protect ratepayers.” 

With the partnership, Polis said in a remote call, the states are leveraging their shared resources and expertise to tap into the resource’s “vast potential.”

“By working together, we can really take a closer look and leap forward on capitalizing on geothermal and how states can be partners on working more effectively to address the market de-risking technology and policy factors,” Polis said.

Accelerating and propelling geothermal projects, Cox said, needs a lot of capital — which can be raised by providing certainty, he said. And also, permitting reform.

Cox also cited projects like Utah Forge, a laboratory sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy to develop and test breakthroughs in geothermal technologies. With the federal government’s support, the project was allowed to study and advance geothermal drilling. That’s something that could be replicated.

Universities and colleges could also partner with institutions across the states to train the workforce that’s expected to work in the field. Meanwhile, the states may be able to be more influential when discussing geothermal support in Washington, D.C. by unifying the efforts of their federal delegations.

The answer for a proposed massive data center?

The announcement also “is the answer to a lot of the questions that people have” about projects like the massive and controversial data center proposed for 40,000 acres of unincorporated Box Elder County land, Cox said.

Massive Box Elder County data center could increase Utah’s carbon emissions by 50%

“That’s why this is so important. It’s why I believe in this so strongly. It’s why we’ve been pushing it and other technologies that can help provide the same, again, affordable types of power that are clean, that people can rely on,” Cox said, “and we think that this is a solution to that project.”

Officials representing the Stratos data center project, sponsored by celebrity “Shark Tank” investor Kevin O’Leary, have deeply linked the proposal to the Ruby natural gas pipeline, which, if approved, is meant to feed a 9 gigawatt energy plant for the center. 

However, after much public outcry, Cox has made new environmental promises around the project, including incorporating renewable resources in the project’s energy mix. On Wednesday, Cox added to that list of promises saying that only about 1 gigawatt of energy will be generated by natural gas during the first phase of the project.

“But just the very first phase. There’s nobody out there, including me, who would support 9 gigawatts of natural gas power,” he said. “It’s just not going to happen. You can’t get the air permits for that. It’s not a thing.”