Hotting up: the geothermal revolution

热度攀升:地热革命

Babbage from The Economist

2025-11-20

40 分钟
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Geothermal energy has long been neglected—it currently provides less than 1% of the world's electricity. That's because very few places on Earth have the right conditions to enable geothermal plants to work. But that's changing, thanks to a new suite of technologies. Could geothermal soon rival nuclear power? Host: Alok Jha, The Economist's science and technology editor. Guests: The Economist's Vijay Vaitheeswaran; Jack Norbeck of Fervo Energy; James Benetatos of Quaise Energy; and Cindy Taff of Sage Geosystems. Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+.
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  • The deeper you go underneath the Earth's surface, the hotter it gets.

  • This is true almost everywhere on the planet.

  • Sometimes that energy can burst out into the air via volcanoes,

  • or less dangerously, in hot springs and geysers.

  • where water has passed through hot rocks many kilometres underground and risen to the surface.

  • Geothermal energy is so reliable that in some places, such as Iceland and California,

  • they use the hot water and steam coming from below to make clean, carbon-free electricity.

  • Unfortunately, it takes a lot of luck to make this work.

  • You need the right kind of rocks, an intense heat and pressure,

  • and all of it at relatively shallow depths.

  • Very few places in the world have those.

  • And so today, geothermal energy provides less than 1% of the world's electricity.

  • It's always, therefore, been in the shadows compared to its clean energy cousins,

  • such as solar, wind or nuclear.

  • But that could soon be history.

  • A new suite of technologies is promising to finally allow the heat inside the Earth to become available almost anywhere on the Earth.

  • So, yeah, just watch your step.

  • Obviously, trips and hazards, things are overhead, but it's pretty safe right now.

  • That's Jack Norbeck at a site in the Utah desert.

  • He's the Chief Technology Officer at Furvo,