President Donald Trump wasted no time reversing the country’s energy policies upon taking office, issuing a series of directives that largely backed oil, gas, and coal. Noticeably missing from the conversation were solar, wind, and battery storage, which the new administration either omitted or singled out for restrictive measures. But amid these moves, one renewable source stood out for gaining the president’s support: geothermal energy.
Energy experts point out that geothermal makes electricity around the clock, which is appealing to leaders who prioritize reliability. Many geothermal professionals also come from oil and gas backgrounds, carrying over the same drilling and well technologies to extract the Earth’s natural heat. That connection is not lost on an administration strongly aligned with fossil fuels. Congress has also shown broad bipartisan support for geothermal, given its potential to supply clean baseload power.
Trump formally declared an energy emergency on Monday and listed geothermal heat among the domestic energy resources that could ensure reliable and affordable electricity. In contrast, solar, wind, and battery technologies were excluded from the emergency declaration. Wind in particular was targeted by a separate order aimed at slowing its deployment, including a temporary pause on offshore wind lease sales in federal waters.
Geothermal’s attractiveness stems from how it cleanly generates electricity. Hot water and steam drawn from beneath the Earth’s surface drive turbines to produce power, replacing fossil-fuel burning power plants and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It can also tap into a workforce and equipment already well-established in the oil and gas sector.
Bryant Jones, executive director of industry group Geothermal Rising, has welcomed the administration’s support, predicting a surge of activity to unlock geothermal’s full potential over the next four years. While solar has recently led the nation in growth, geothermal companies are gaining momentum by adapting advanced drilling methods to extract steam from widespread underground reservoirs. Studies from the U.S. Energy Department suggest that new geothermal projects could generate up to 90 gigawatts of power by 2050—enough to serve more than 65 million U.S. homes.
Trump’s pick for energy secretary, Chris Wright, is a Denver-based fossil fuel executive who has openly touted geothermal as a massive untapped resource. His firm, Liberty Energy, invested in a Houston-based geothermal startup called Fervo Energy. At Wright’s confirmation hearing, he spoke enthusiastically about the Earth’s abundant heat, emphasizing its vast, underutilized potential and signaling likely federal support for geothermal projects.
Industry observers say this newfound attention aligns with a broader plan to lessen regulatory barriers for nuclear power, hydropower, and uranium mining. Like geothermal, nuclear power emits no carbon dioxide during energy production, although it presents different safety and waste challenges. In contrast, the president has voiced strong skepticism about wind, calling turbines expensive eyesores reliant on subsidies. Officials quickly paused new permits for wind farms both offshore and on federal lands.
Advocates like Jones hope geothermal’s inclusion in Trump’s energy emergency order will lead to streamlined permitting, sustained research funding, and tax incentives. Some of the most promising new projects are emerging from companies started by oil and gas veterans, such as Sage Geosystems in Houston. CEO Cindy Taff believes the administration’s support could fast-track investments for large-scale geothermal facilities supplying data centers, AI operations, and U.S. military bases that require steady, resilient power. She predicts that pushing more projects through to completion will lower costs and make geothermal increasingly competitive in the broader energy mix.
Despite the administration’s strong tilt toward fossil fuels, geothermal’s alignment with oil and gas drilling and its bipartisan appeal in Congress may allow it to thrive. It also helps that geothermal resources exist across multiple Western states, including California, Nevada, Idaho, Oregon, and New Mexico. Though it still contributes less than one percent of America’s overall large-scale electricity, proponents say these policy changes, along with technical breakthroughs, could finally move geothermal to the forefront of the nation’s clean energy future.
