Arizona Governor's Office report finds geothermal energy is promising for state utilities

A report from the Arizona Governor's Office of Resiliency says geothermal energy provides substantial promise for state utilities as they face unprecedented power demand from large users like data centers and a growing population.

The new report is the product of an executive order from Gov. Katie Hobbs last year that created the Arizona Energy Promise Task Force. It was tasked with drafting a series of policy recommendations to shore up energy resources.

The report includes more than 30 recommendations.

Geothermal taps into the heat from below the Earth’s surface to generate steam that drives turbines.

Arizona’s utilities do not use geothermal energy to contribute to the grid, which makes the new policy advice noteworthy. The recommendation comes as officials say the technology has advanced to a point that Arizona could use it.

“Arizona, frankly, doesn't have a ton of resources for that conventional geothermal. But in the last decade or so, there's been a lot of innovation in that industry. And we would have a really great resource for these new advanced geothermal technologies," said Maren Mahoney, director of the Governor’s Office of Resiliency.

In February, the Arizona Geological Survey received a $1 million investment to get a better understanding of potential geothermal sources.

“We are building off of decades of work under previous administrations, but now we're finally at a place where advanced geothermal, we can really push that forward. But with, again, some targeted intentional investments,” Mahoney said.

A coalition of 36 people contributed to the report, representing interest from a variety of sectors, like tech and energy. The task force included Microsoft and Google representatives, as well as ASU President Michael Crow, and leaders from the state’s utilities.

The coalition covered multiple renewable energy topics, including recommendations to streamline the permitting process of solar and wind power.

But Hobbs signaled she is not ready to move beyond fossil fuels entirely, like natural gas.

“Natural gas is a very important part of our energy equation right now. It's, I think, the largest source of electricity generation, and our pipelines are at full capacity right now. We can't move away from gas and keep energy affordable right now,” Hobbs said.

The report also entailed policy suggestions to advance new nuclear power generation in Arizona. The policies focused on making sure projects don’t go over budget as well as speeding up the approval sites for new reactor sites.

“The federal government is looking to accelerate more nuclear energy. And, you know, I think obviously there's safety concerns, environmental concerns that we have to make sure that we're attending to, but we're absolutely making sure that Arizona is a part of those conversations,” Hobbs said.

The report came in an election year. But Hobbs says that the size of the coalition representing different perspectives will help ensure the report has a lasting impact.

“A lot of the recommendations are long-term recommendations, so I think there is commitment to move forward regardless of the politics involved,” Hobbs said.