Capabilities
The NREL geothermal team leverages its capabilities in several different areas to enhance the visibility of geothermal technologies. These areas include low-temperature resources; strategic planning, analysis, and modeling; education and workforce development; and technical monitoring.
Low Temperature Resources
NREL has a lead role in the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Geothermal Technologies Program Low Temperature Geothermal subprogram, and strives to provide the same level of technical leadership in this area as the laboratory currently provides for other DOE programs, including wind, solar, and hydrogen.
NREL's expertise and experience in low-temperature geothermal technologies drives invaluable test plans and analysis for the low-temperature power production industry, helping to indentify and overcome barriers to increased use. The geothermal team's data collection and evaluation capabilities leverage its lead role to ensure high quality, objective, and defensible results.
Learn about NREL's low-temperature projects.
Strategic Planning, Analysis, and Modeling
NREL's geothermal systems analysis team increases the understanding of current and future interactions and roles of energy policies, markets, resources, technology systems and components, environmental impacts, and infrastructure related to geothermal resources. The team:
- Performs resource analysis
- Develops techno-economic models
- Quantifies environmental impacts through sustainability and technology life-cycle assessments
- Assesses technology supply chains
- Incorporates R&D portfolio uncertainty and risk
- Assesses market, financial, and policy impacts
- Incorporates geospatial implications
Additionally, the NREL geothermal team combines these core capabilities into integrated assessments of energy plans, programs, and portfolios for geothermal technologies to inform decision-makers and to advance geothermal use.
Learn about NREL's geothermal strategic planning, analysis, and modeling projects.
Education and Workforce Development
NREL's geothermal team also works to expand university-level geothermal energy education and workforce development to support expansion of a geothermal workforce needed to meet the demands of the rapidly growing geothermal energy industry around the world.
NREL has experience promoting and executing university-level outreach activities and is collaborating with universities and geothermal industry professionals to educate and assist the current and future geothermal workforce.
Learn about NREL's geothermal education and workforce development projects.
Technical Monitoring
NREL's geothermal technical monitoring team incorporates decades of project management and geoscience experience in areas such as geologic field studies, regional sedimentary basin exploration, prospect generation, reservoir characterization and simulation, drilling and completion operations, and environmental assessment and permitting to encourage the development, validation, and deployment of geothermal technologies.
Learn about NREL's geothermal technical monitoring projects.
