Geothermal Energy Atlas: Democratizing Geothermal Data

The Geothermal Energy Atlas (GEA) is a new, freely accessible web application designed to advance geothermal deployment by making complex geothermal geospatial data discoverable, understandable, and actionable. Developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO), GEA addresses a gap in the geothermal landscape left by the retirement of the Geothermal Prospector in 2022. Exploratory user and market research conducted by NREL prior to GEA's development revealed that research scientists, geologists, and energy analysts across government, startups, nonprofits, and the broader energy industry require geothermal data for feasibility assessments, site selection, and in-depth analysis to support decision-making. These stakeholders routinely work with geospatial data to evaluate potential geothermal opportunities and inform recommendations. In response to strong demand for a platform that supports the full spectrum of geothermal applications (e.g., power, heating, cooling, mineral extraction, storage), resources (e.g., shallow, hydrothermal, hot dry rock, superhot), and technologies (conventional, enhanced geothermal, closed loop, underground storage), NREL, with support from GTO, plans to include updated datasets and modeling results in GEA. The platform will be updated periodically with outputs of geothermal techno-economic modeling efforts at NREL and beyond. These platform and data enhancements aim to support informed decision-making across the geothermal community and accelerate innovation within industry.