Underwater Volcanoes Are Geothermal Energy’s Next Frontier

A Seattle startup is seeking to revolutionize geothermal energy by tapping into undersea volcanoes. In September, a 100-kilowatt geothermal generator will be deployed to the seafloor off Oregon’s coast, where a hydrothermal vent emits temperatures of up to 750 degrees Fahrenheit. The pilot project – the fifth of its kind – will continue to test the viability of turning that heat into commercially competitive, round-the-clock, and totally emissions-free electricity. The team behind the project at Endurance Energy believes that this technology could someday sustainably power entire cities. “Addressing the clean power problem is a way to make significant, scalable impact,” founder and CEO Andrew Redd was recently quoted by GeekWire. “It’s a fundamental of human life — people need power.”Geothermal has garnered increased attention in recent years for its potential to provide a baseload form of clean energy. Unlike wind and solar power, geothermal is not variable or intermittent, and is therefore capable of producing power at any time of day, matching output with demand. What is more, it’s one of vanishingly few forms of clean energy that continues to enjoy broad bipartisan support, making it especially attractive to investors who might otherwise be scared off of clean energy portfolios in the current policy climate. Set OilPrice.com as a preferred source in Google here.The problem is that geothermal energy has historically only been viable in rare geographies where the heat from the Earth’s core escapes to its surface, such as in geysers – or in underwater volcanoes, if we’re able to successfully install generators there. This is not a new idea – other companies and researchers around the globe have been looking into the possibility for years now – but a new groundswell of interest and investing dollars could push the technology over the edge from scientific inquiry to commercial reality. Other emerging geothermal technologies are turning their attention away from natural thermal vents and toward creating their own. While underwater volcanoes could someday provide critical clean energy resources to coastal cities, their utility is geographically limited. But in recent years, advanced drilling techniques borrowed from the fossil fuels industry have allowed geothermal energy companies to begin drilling deep into the Earth to tap into the heat radiating from the planet’s core nearly anywhere on its surface. These ‘enhanced geothermal’ projects have quickly become the new face of geothermal energy, but still have a long way to go before they become commercially competitive.Underwater geothermal energy development will, in almost all cases, be more costly than onshore development. However, marine-based projects do offer certain benefits due to their out-of-the-way locations. Land competition and a not-in-my-backyard mentality have become a major bottleneck for clean energy projects in the United States. Building offshore and out of sight could therefore be a major boon to getting projects approved. Both underwater and enhanced geothermal energies are still in early development stages, but they are on the precipice of major growth. While geothermal is still a nascent industry in the United States, its benefits and potential scalability have become increasingly attractive to public and private interests alike. The federal government has provided a major leg up for geothermal projects as a way to diversify the domestic energy mix without turning to international supply chains. The United States Department of Energy thinks that enhanced geothermal technologies could power 65 million homes across the country by midcentury. The private sector, driven by big tech, also has an eye on geothermal to provide its own energy needs. Skyrocketing energy demand projections driven by the artificial intelligence boom are boosting investment from Wall Street and especially Silicon Valley. A recent report from the New York-based research firm and think tank Rhodium Group finds that geothermal alone could meet up to 64 percent of the expected growth in data center energy demand as soon as the early 2030s if the sector is rapidly scaled up and out. By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.comEvery Chokepoint That Isn't HormuzClean Energy Spending Tracking Toward Record $180 Billion in 2026The Gas Turbine Shortage Just Became AI’s Biggest Constraint