Nevada is the second leading producer of geothermal energy production in the United States. Recent estimates by the U.S. Geological Survey suggest that Nevada may hold enough geothermal energy potential to provide one-tenth of U.S. energy demand.

The U.S. Geological Survey recently (2025) completed a provisional assessment of the geothermal-electric resources associated with high-temperature, low-permeability rock formations of the Great Basin, Southwestern United States. If sufficient technological advances to commercialize enhanced geothermal systems occur, then a current best provisional estimate for electric-power generation capacity of 135 gigawatts electric are available from the upper 6 kilometers of the Earth’s crust. This estimate is a potential substantial increase of the installed geothermal electricity-generating capacity from <1 to 10 percent of current total U.S. power production capacity.

Geothermal energy is a significant source of renewable electric power in the western United States and, with advances in exploration and development technologies, a potential source of a large fraction of baseload electric power for the entire country. This project focuses on advancing geothermal research through a better understanding of geothermal resources and the impacts of geothermal development. This is achieved by applying a wide range of research methods to characterize resource occurrences, monitor geothermal developments, and conduct resource assessments. While much emphasis has been placed on electricity generation, low-temperature geothermal resources and thermal energy storage in geological reservoirs have been identified as potentially large sources of energy for direct-use heating and cooling of infrastructure across the entire US. The results of national-scale assessments and supporting research studies provide State and Federal government policymakers with the information they need to evaluate the potential contribution of geothermal energy to the nation’s energy mix.

The first large-scale commercial enhanced geothermal system (EGS) power generator in the United States is under construction with the company reporting in our generator survey that it plans to bring the project online in June 2026. Below, we examine what enhanced geothermal systems are and how they differ from conventional geothermal systems.