DOE awards $99 million to 21 geothermal projects for field tests and exploration drilling. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced more than $99 million for 21 projects selected to advance geothermal energy development across the United States. The selection was made on September 21, 2026. The announced amount, up to $99 million, represents a ceiling for the first budget period and does not constitute a final award or disbursement. The selection opens a negotiation phase between the DOE and project developers. Actual funding would depend on appropriated funds and on each project reaching defined milestones. Two tracks: field tests and exploration drilling. Five projects will conduct field-scale enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) tests to validate technologies under real-world conditions, while 16 additional projects will conduct exploration drilling to identify and characterize promising next-generation geothermal resources. The split reflects the agency's stated goal of proving that next-generation geothermal technology works at scale while also building a pipeline of confirmed resource sites for future commercial development. Who was selected and where. Among the recipients is Fervo Energy, which was selected for two projects: an enhanced geothermal systems demonstration in Idaho and exploration drilling in Nevada. Quaise Energy, Zanskar Geothermal, XGS Energy, and Invenergy are also among the selectees. Three Utah-based firms and institutions, Zanskar Geothermal and Minerals, AlterG Resources, and the University of Utah, made the cut, though their projects are deployed at out-of-state sites, including locations in Hidalgo County, New Mexico; Pershing and Churchill Counties, Nevada; and the Dixie Valley West geothermal field, also in Nevada. Quaise Energy is developing a millimeter-wave technique that uses directed energy to melt and vaporize rock rather than relying on conventional mechanical drilling. Zanskar Geothermal and Minerals was selected to design, drill, and hydraulically stimulate a short-lateral horizontal injection well at the Lightning Dock Geothermal field in Hidalgo County, New Mexico, to deliver engineered pressure support to an actively producing hydrothermal reservoir and capture heat from impermeable, hot rock in the vicinity of the hydrothermal system. The program is not limited to enhanced geothermal systems. The 16 exploratory drilling projects also cover conventional hydrothermal resources, where heat and underground fluids occur naturally, as well as next-generation geothermal resources. Public data to guide future investment. Data generated by these projects will be publicly available through DOE's Geothermal Data Repository, giving industry, researchers, and other stakeholders access to information from the field tests and geothermal exploration activities. That data-sharing requirement is intended to reduce subsurface uncertainty and lower the commercial risk that has historically slowed private capital deployment into geothermal exploration. The repository push follows record commercial interest in the sector: geothermal developers invested record amounts in federal lease sales in 2025 and 2026, and a June 2026 Bureau of Land Management sale of 152,381 acres in New Mexico generated $16.6 million, a new single-sale record. Wider industry backdrop. The DOE's selection comes as geothermal energy has attracted growing interest from investors and energy companies as a source of around-the-clock power. The DOE's portfolio is designed to accelerate domestic geothermal development by reducing the technical and financial barriers that have kept the resource underexploited outside of established hotspots in California, Nevada, and Utah. GCN has previously reported on the world's largest enhanced geothermal power purchase agreement at 396 megawatts. DOE Under Secretary of Energy Kyle Haustveit said the awards will "empower American innovators to unlock the tremendous geothermal resources beneath our feet." The 21 selections follow a series of related federal moves in September 2026 alone, including an extended EGS test at Utah FORGE and a separate $1.2 million workforce prize for geothermal heat pump training programs. The full project list and fact sheet are available at the DOE's official announcement. Hugo Rojas is the editor of GCN. With a Master of Science in Engineering, he specializes in technology, data, and science, and brings a human-centered perspective informed by psychology.

Quaise Energy has been selected by the US Department of Energy to receive up to $25 million in funding for ultra-high temperature geothermal development. The funding will support the Obsidian Project in central Oregon, the world's first commercial ultra-high temperature geothermal plant. The grant will fund analysis of drilling, stimulation, and flow results from the first two wells to optimise a third well. The three-well configuration targets reservoir temperatures above 300°C and is designed to demonstrate gross power generation capacity exceeding 25 megawatts. The Obsidian Project is expected to deliver power to the Pacific Northwest grid by 2030, with potential expansion to one gigawatt. The first phase aims to generate over 50 megawatts by 2030. The selection follows Quaise's $180 million Series B funding round completed in August 2024, led by Nabors Industries and Prelude Ventures.

Quaise Energy Selected for Up to $25 Million in U.S. Department of Energy Support to Advance World's First Commercial Superhot Geothermal Power Plant TMCnet News [September 22, 2026] | / | Quaise Energy Selected for Up to $25 Million in U.S. Department of Energy Support to Advance World's First Commercial Superhot Geothermal Power Plant Quaise Energy, a leading developer of utility-scale superhot geothermal energy, today announced that it has been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for up to $25 million in funding under the Next-Generation Geothermal Field Tests and Geothermal Resource Characterization and Confirmation funding opportunity. The support brings the U.S. closer to commercializing superhot Enhanced Geothermal Systems - technology that could unlock firm, clean power from hot rock beneath virtually any geography in the country. The funding will advance Project Obsidian, the world's first commercial superhot geothermal power plant, in Central Oregon. It will support analysis of the drilling, stimulation, and flow results of the first two wells to optimize a third well at the Obsidian site. The three-well configuration is targeting average reservoir temperatures of over 300°C and is designed to demonstrate more than 25 megawatts of gross electric power capacity. The DOE funding will also enable Quaise and its research partners to collect, analyze and share field data from drilling, stimulation and flow testing - establishing a replicable template to help unlock further EGS development. "This DOE support is a recognition of what we are building at Quaise and the progress we are making in the field, including the confirmation well currently being drilled at Project Obsidian," said Carlos Araque, CEO and President of Quaise Energy. "Our ambition has always been to make superhot geothermal a commercial reality, and Project Obsidian is where we first deliver on that promise." Project Obsidian, currently under construction south of Bend, Oregon, sits on one of the most extensively studied geothermal resources in the United States. The project is expected to deliver first power to the Pacific Northwest grid in 2030 with potential for expansion up to one gigawatt of electricity. Learnings from these three wells will directly inform subsequent drilling at the site. Using EGS and advanced drilling techniques, Quaise expects to drill the hottest well in the Western Hemisphere at Project Obsidian reaching temperatures over 400°C - above the range of current commercial geothermal projects. Phase one of the project is expected to produce more than 50 megawatts of electric power by 2030. The full value of the proposed DOE funding is subject to completion of award negotiations. The project team includes experts from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboraory, and Oregon State University. The selection follows Quaise's close of $180 million in Series B financing in August 2026, led by Nabors Industries and Prelude Ventures, with participation from JERA Co., Inc. and Idemitsu Kosan, to fund Project Obsidian. About Quaise Energy Quaise Energy is unlocking the Earth's deep heat to deliver clean, reliable, baseload energy at scale-almost anywhere in the world. As both a technology innovator and project developer, Quaise builds and operates solutions that harness superhot geothermal energy far below the surface, enabling power generation that can rival the output of today's most efficient fossil fuel and nuclear plants. With its millimeter wave drilling technology, developed after more than a decade of research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Quaise's mission is to make superhot geothermal a backbone of the modern energy system, offering affordable, zero-carbon power and true energy independence for communities and nations everywhere. https://www.quaise.com/ Forward Looking Statement: This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the Company's future financial performance, business plans, and expectations. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions deemed reasonable by the Company at the time they were made. There is no assurance that such statements will prove accurate, and actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied herein due to various risks, uncertainties, and other factors. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release and are based on the aforementioned assumptions. The Company assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable law. Quaise.com | LinkedIn | X | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260922715014/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage] |