During this press conference, which took place in Belém, Brazil at COP30, The Climate Center’s Chief Program Officer Barry Vesser discussed Advanced Geothermal Energy Systems (AGES). These systems have the potential to provide communities with clean electricity at any time of day or night, almost indefinitely. AGES are a perfect complement to solar and wind energy and may be a replacement for natural gas as utilities search for 24-hour power to serve data centers. AGES include Enhanced Geothermal Systems and Closed-Loop Geothermal Systems, which have the potential to revolutionize the energy sector. Conventional geothermal has geographic limitations because it relies on naturally occurring reservoirs of heat, fluid, and permeable rock near the Earth’s surface.
As AGES are developed, policymakers must proactively engage potentially impacted communities early in the process to ensure these projects benefit these communities by creating local jobs and protecting nearby ecosystems.