Enhanced Geothermal Systems Move Toward Commercial Deployment: Legal And Regulatory Considerations

Enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) are moving from engineering experiments to commercial development.

Data centers, advanced manufacturing, and electrification need reliable, around-the-clock power. For project developers, large power users, utilities, and regulators, the question is no longer whether EGS is viable. It is whether existing legal and regulatory frameworks can accommodate projects that share characteristics of both geothermal facilities and oil-and-gas operations.

An early commercial deployment is already operating. In Nevada, Google and Fervo Energy’s Project Red became operational in November 2023 and began delivering carbon-free electricity to the local grid serving Google’s Nevada data centers. The project is small — approximately 3.5 MW— and combines horizontal drilling, hydraulic stimulation, and real-time subsurface monitoring in a commercial power project.