Geothermal energy in disadvantaged areas, a promising solution that more and more governments are joining in.

As governments scramble to find ways to accelerate the shift away from fossil fuels in favour of renewable alternatives, the enormous potential for developing natural geothermal resources underground is increasingly coming to the fore. Investing in on-grid geothermal energy could provide abundant clean heat and electricity to millions of homes and businesses around the world, especially as geothermal resources in the ground often coincide with the most economically, industrially or energetically disadvantaged areas or regions. Although countries with abundant geothermal resources have been harnessing this natural energy source for thousands of years, it is only now that governments have begun to fund more research into the use of advanced geothermal systems aimed at expanding the use of this energy source.

In the UK, for example, a 2023 report suggests that there is significant potential to develop the country’s geothermal resources to provide clean heat and electricity. The report highlights several untapped geothermal energy regions in the UK that could be developed to provide on-grid geothermal energy. Many of these areas coincide with towns and cities included in the Government’s Levelling Up White Paper, which lists a number of disadvantaged areas in the UK that require further attention and investment. These include Redcar and Cleveland, Middlesbrough, East Lindsey, Hartlepool, Northumberland and Bassetlaw. Other areas with potential for geothermal energy production include Newcastle upon Tyne, North East Derbyshire, East Riding of Yorkshire and Nottingham.

Kieran Mullan MP, who led the report, said there is a ‘strong overlap’ between areas where investment is needed and the best geothermal sites, which could encourage greater support for renewable energy development in these areas. Mullan referred to the potential for exploiting the UK’s geothermal resources:

‘Unlike wind or solar, this technology provides baseload: it’s there all the time. And our experience of drilling in the North Sea means we are well placed to move forward.’ However, Mullen stresses that ‘there is some catching up to do, because across Europe there has been much stronger government intervention to support the nascent deep geothermal industries in those countries’.

The United States, for its part, also wants to harness the natural energy stored underground, investing in new technologies to exploit geothermal resources and distribute the energy. Earlier this year, Eversource Energy launched the first on-grid geothermal neighbourhood in the United States run by a utility company in Framingham, Massachusetts. There is great optimism about the potential for project expansion, as much of the equipment needed to harness geothermal sources already exists. Utilities can use gas pipeline equipment to deploy on-grid geothermal power, circulating fluid instead of gas, with the possibility of establishing networks anywhere.