Goals and Mission

Federal funding of geothermal research and development is authorized by statute to support the U.S. geothermal industry in providing diversity and therefore security in domestic energy supply options.

This support also helps the industry maintain its technical edge in world energy markets, thereby enhancing exports of U.S. goods and services and U.S. job growth.

Program Goal:

Reduce the levelized cost of generating geothermal power to $0.03 to $0.05 per kilowatt-hour by 2010

Program Mission:

To work in partnership with U.S. industry to establish geothermal energy as an economically competitive contributor to the U.S. energy supply.

The Geothermal Technologies Program is balanced between short-term goals of greater interest to industry, and long-term goals of importance to national energy interests. The Program's research and development activities are expected to increase the number of new domestic geothermal fields, increase the success rate of geothermal well drilling, and reduce the costs of constructing and operating geothermal power plants. These improvements will increase the quantity of economically viable geothermal resources, leading in turn to an increased number of geothermal power facilities serving more energy demand. These new geothermal projects will take advantage of geothermal resources in locations where development is not currently possible or economical.