Geothermal power supported by US directive to accelerate data center infrastructure

Geothermal power generation stands to benefit from a recent Executive Order released by the Trump Administration to accelerate federal permitting for data center infrastructure in the United States. The goal of the EO is to ease federal regulatory burdens for AI data centers and supporting infrastructure, including power generation and transmission facilities.

In more specific terms, “geothermal power equipment” is included in the EO’s “Covered Components” or the materials, products, and infrastructure that are required to build data center projects. Moreover, this means that geothermal power projects or facilities for manufacturing of geothermal power equipment can be considered “Covered Component Projects” under the EO.

Covered Component Projects may benefit from the EO if they are considered “Qualifying Projects.” These refer to projects that satisfy a few conditions, including:

• Involving an incremental electric load addition of greater than 100 MW;
• A project that protects national security;
• A project for which the Project Sponsor has committed at least $500 million in capital expenditures
• A project that has been designated as “Qualifying Project” by the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Commerce, or the Secretary of Energy

The EO aims to facilitate the development of Qualifying Projects through the following measures:

• Potential financial support for Qualifying Projects, which could include loans and loan guarantees, grants, tax incentives, and offtake agreements;
• The establishment of new categorical exclusions to cover actions related to Qualifying Projects that normally do not have a significant effect on the human environment.
• The possibility of transitioning eligible Qualifying Projects to FAST-41 “covered projects”
• Expedited permit review on Federal and non-Federal lands
• The identification of suitable sites on Federal lands to be offered under competitive lease to Qualifying Projects

Several planned data center projects in the US and around the world are already being developed under agreements to be supplied with geothermal power, including projects by planned by Meta in New Mexico, and by Google in Taiwan.

Source: The White House