The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO) has announced a $19 million grant program to establish regional partnerships for collecting and disseminating geothermal data, identifying regional data gaps, and prioritizing plans to stimulate geothermal exploration and development.

DOE expects to make six awards of from $1 million to $5 million each, says GTO, which adds applicants’ projects need to be scalable from the low end of that range to the high end so DOE can have flexibility in selecting projects that will optimize the overall portfolio. 

Applicants can propose a scalable project by describing two separate project scopes for a high and a low budget scenario, or by listing multiple independent tasks that the project can perform so the DOE can select a subset of the proposed work for funding without compromising the overall project, says GTO. Furthermore, grant recipients will be required to meet a 20 percent minimum cost share, the agency says. 

Because the grant opportunity is funded through GTO’s Hydrothermal Resources program, study areas must be confined to areas that show potential for hosting traditional hydrothermal resources, the agency says. Datasets that could support development of both hydrothermal and enhanced geothermal systems are of particular interest to DOE, according to GTO.

Eligible entities include U.S. domestic organizations from industry, academia, state governments, or other institutions capable of overseeing the proposed work and managing a partnership, says GTO. Furthermore, applicants must certify they are not owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of a government of a “country of risk” (which is a country that presents risks to investors, businesses, or governments), according to GTO.

The goals of the program are to accelerate the deployment of geothermal energy in multiple underdeveloped regions of the U.S. by addressing specific barriers to deployment in those areas, GTO says. Such barriers include a lack of adequate public data to guide and incentivize geothermal exploration activities; financial barriers that impede exploratory drilling; and limited technical expertise in certain stakeholder organizations, according to the agency.

The initiative seeks to build upon previous and ongoing work that focused on the Great Basin region of the U.S. and will support expanded efforts in regions such as, but not limited to, the southern basin and range, the Pacific Northwest; as well as Alaska, and Hawaii, GTO says.

The program will allow for tailored approaches to accommodate the relevant regional factors such as resource type, climate, energy prices, community and local stakeholder values/culture, data gaps, etc, according to GTO. In addition, the initiative may help to achieve economies of scale in procuring and executing capital intensive and highly technical field work, the agency says.

To facilitate grant applications, GTO has engaged ConnectWerx—a partnership intermediary—to coordinate the collection of applications; select partnership performers; negotiate business to business agreements, and administer funds, GTO says.

Organizations that want to apply for a regional partnership grant need to file a concept paper that describes two separate project scopes for both the high and a low budget scenario, GTO says. In addition, the concept paper needs to include multiple independent tasks that applicants can perform to enable the DOE to select a subset of the proposed work for funding without compromising the overall project. The deadline to file a concept paper is Feb. 24, 2025 by 5 p.m. EST.

GOT says on March 10, 2025 the DOE will provide feedback on concept papers, including whether those who filed a concept paper should go on to file a full application. The deadline for filing a full application is April 22, 2025, and projects selected to receive a grant will be announced in June 2025, GTO says.

Click here to read GTO’s announcement of the grant opportunity.