This November 2020 photo shows the drilling rig at the Utah FORGE geothermal project site in Beaver County, Utah.

Can geothermal energy ease the US military's logistics challenges?

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2024-04-17 00:00:06

This November 2020 photo shows the drilling rig at the Utah FORGE geothermal project site in Beaver County, Utah. UTAH FORGE

Getting fuel to farflung military forces, always a challenge, is even tougher in the vast Pacific. But a new take on an old energy source may soon ease the burden.

On Tuesday, the Pentagon's Defense Innovation Unit announced that it is doubling to six the number of technology companies involved in a project to try out advances in geothermal energy, which draws upon liquid heated by the Earth, is carbon neutral, and doesn’t require long and vulnerable supply lines.

“With the addition of three more novel technology companies in this ‘groundbreaking’ initiative, DoD is doubling its efforts to leverage advancements in geothermal commercial technologies for energy resilience and support DoD carbon free energy goals,” Michael Callahan, the project manager for the Defense innovation Unit’s energy portfolio, said in a statement.

The idea of using the Earth’s heat to produce energy goes back centuries. Vikings used it for bathing and to heat homes before Icelanders used it to run turbines and produce electric power. But not every place can be Iceland, which boasts abundant underground water as well as high geothermal activity.