Posted on April 20, 2026 by Matthew Mailloux
This op-ed was originally published by The Ripon Society on April 20, 2026. Click here to read the entire piece.
A year into the second Trump administration, energy dominance – global leadership and security through abundant, innovative American energy – has gone from a mantra to a guiding principle. Few technologies are better positioned than geothermal power to deliver on this promise in an era of rising energy demand driven by AI and resurgent American manufacturing.
Clean, reliable, baseload geothermal power has quickly become a favored energy technology on both sides of the aisle. Once limited to rare, naturally occurring reservoirs of hot water or steam, next-generation technologies are dramatically expanding where this resource can be developed by innovative companies. Geothermal has made allies across the spectrum, gaining bipartisan political support in Congress and investment interest from venture capital, big tech and oil majors.
The technology’s rapid maturation reflects cutting-edge American innovation, leveraging technology pioneered during the shale revolution and applying it to previously inaccessible geothermal resources. By adapting techniques like horizontal drilling and hydraulic stimulation, enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) engineer a reservoir from scratch. Companies like Fervo Energy have demonstrated how quickly the technology is advancing, having reduced drilling costs by 70 percent since its first wells in 2023.
But in an era of intense partisanship in Washington, the political progress may be even more notable as geothermal’s attributes meet energy priorities across the aisle. Conservatives see a resource that leverages American drilling expertise and provides reliable power. Meanwhile, progressives and climate hawks value its zero-carbon benefits. This convergence of interests has yielded concrete policy outcomes. In 2022, geothermal was included in the clean electricity tax credits enacted in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) signed by President Biden; in 2025, Republicans preserved geothermal’s eligibility for those same credits in President Trump’s signature Working Families Tax Cuts. The tax policy certainty demonstrated by major bills from both political parties reflects enduring bipartisan support for geothermal. That momentum continues today, as multiple bipartisan geothermal permitting bills have passed through House committees, with additional legislative action expected later this year.
Click here to read the full article
