Colorado Governor, Western Leaders Eye Multistate Plan to Boost Geothermal Energy Production
The interstate initiative aims to remove permitting and financing barriers as the four states seek to grow output beyond about 100 megawatts, officials said.
- On Wednesday, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, alongside representatives from Arizona and New Mexico, unveiled the Mountain West Geothermal Consortium to unlock an estimated 200 gigawatts of clean, always-on energy by tapping regional underground heat.
- By teaming up, these states aim to ease financial, permitting, and logistical challenges hindering geothermal deployment, specifically addressing the "vicious cycle" in project financing where developers lack capital to prove system feasibility.
- Led by the Center for Public Enterprise and the nonprofit Constructive, the consortium will coordinate regulatory reform and help utilities integrate geothermal power into their long-term resource plans using improved data.
- Cox said the group will bring "some heft" to Washington, D.C., to advocate for federal support; Polis noted regional collaboration allows states to "harmonize and de-risk investments" in clean energy.
- This initiative positions the Mountain West to potentially increase national geothermal capacity 50-fold, providing a critical strategy as data centers and electrified infrastructure surge power demands across the region.
17 Articles
17 Articles
Aspen Times
Colorado governor, western leaders eye multistate plan to boost geothermal energy production
Gov. Jared Polis said Colorado plans to be part of a multistate effort to boost geothermal energy production in the West. Polis joined Utah Gov. Spencer Cox on Wednesday, May 20, to unveil the partnership between Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. Speaking virtually at the event, which was held in downtown Salt Lake City, Polis said greater investment in geothermal energy will “save people money on energy bills; provide reliable, 24/7 energ…
Arizona Mirror
Four Mountain West states join forces to accelerate geothermal energy development
Gov. Spencer Cox speaks with geothermal technology executives and Western Governor's Association officials after announcing the Mountain West Geothermal Consortium. (Alixel Cabrera/Utah News Dispatch)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. Sp…
Geothermal energy gets boost from new coalition of Western governors
America’s ambitions to harness geothermal energy just keep getting bigger. On Wednesday, a bipartisan group of Mountain West governors unveiled an initiative to unlock an estimated 200 gigawatts of clean, always-on energy by tapping into the region’s underground heat. That much power would represent a 50-fold…
Exclusive: Western States Form New Bipartisan Geothermal Consortium
Geothermal is so hot right now. And bipartisan.Long regarded as the one form of electricity generation everyone in Washington can agree on (it’s both carbon-free and borrows techniques, equipment, and personnel from the oil and gas industry), the technology got yet another shot in the arm last week when leading next-generation geothermal company Fervo raised almost $2 billion by selling shares in an initial public offering.Now, a coalition of we…
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