New Mexico has huge potential for geothermal energy—what will it take to harness it?

By BRYCE DIX, KUNM NEWS
Courtesy of Source NM

Located in Lordsburg, Lightning Dock is the only utility scale geothermal power plant in New Mexico. (BLM New Mexico via Flickr)

A recent report estimates that New Mexico has the potential to produce substantial power from its geothermal resources.

But what will it take to tap into this substantial energy source underneath our feet that could reduce emissions and curb climate change?

Geothermal energy comes from deep within the Earth’s crust, where heat is produced by both the decay of radioactive minerals and molten rock.

This heat is key for generating electricity – usually from tapping into a hot water aquifer – which can directly heat buildings or spin a turbine’s rotor. This process emits no pollutants and, unlike solar or wind, can be available around the clock.

This type of electricity production has actually been around for a long time – getting its start over 100 years ago in areas experiencing significant subsurface geologic activity.

Tom Solomon is the head facilitator of the New Mexico Geothermal Working Group, a slew of volunteers who explore geothermal and ways that it can be brought to the state.

“New Mexico is number six in the nation in terms of its resource potential for geothermal,” Solomon said.

He’s referencing a report by Project InnerSpace, the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology and the Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, which singled out Santa Fe, Rio Arriba, Sandoval and Taos counties as the best candidates for geothermal exploration.

It found that New Mexico has the potential to produce 163 gigawatts of geothermal power. Just one gigawatt can power roughly 750,000 homes on average.

That power could then be sold to other states or attract private investment opportunities, such as data centers.
Solomon says New Mexico is just starting to explore this massive source of energy.

Right now, there’s only one utility-scale geothermal power plant, located in Lordsburg, and state officials in June announced a deal between Meta and XGS Energy to significantly boost the state’s geothermal output.

“The really exciting possibility is what’s called ‘advanced geothermal,’ or ‘hot dry rock geothermal,’ which New Mexico has in abundance, primarily because of the Rio Grande rift,” Solomon said.

Bisecting the state, the Rio Grande rift is a place where the earth’s crust and mantle have been stretched, thinned, and fractured by tectonic forces – pushing heat closer to the surface.
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“Meaning you don’t have to drill as deep to access that really hot rock, which is the source of potential geothermal,” Solomon said.

Similar to oil and gas fracking, this method works by drilling wells into the Earth’s surface and using high-pressure water to fracture hot basement rock, creating a piping-hot reservoir.

Then, engineers can inject cold water into a well, which circulates and heats up through the hot, fractured rock, and then is brought up to the surface for use.

Wells must also be drilled very deep into the earth’s surface – sometimes 15,000 feet down. For context, the highest natural point in New Mexico is Wheeler Peak, at just over 13,000 feet.

Despite the promise of geothermal energy production, it’s been a difficult pitch to policymakers and utilities because it’s both expensive up front and the technology is rapidly evolving.

In fact, advancements in hot, dry rock geothermal are so new, experts are closely following the construction of a first-of-its-kind utility-scale project by Fervo Energy in Utah.

There, engineers are hoping to put out 100 megawatts of electricity next year, adding 400 more by the end of 2028.

The excitement surrounding advanced geothermal system research lies in the potential to drill both vertically and horizontally, allowing wells to have more contact with a geothermal source.

By doing so, power plants can be placed pretty much everywhere, and can access more heat from the same depth. Another plus: it can utilize readily available expertise from the oil and gas industry – who use a similar technique to tap fossil fuel reservoirs.

Regardless of the type of geothermal energy, the fast pace of the industry is creating some red-hot buzz in the Land of Enchantment.

“Geothermal energy will fit like a hand in a glove in New Mexico,” said Rebecca “Puck” Stair, director of the energy conservation and management division within the Energy Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD).
Stair estimates that around 40% of the state’s electricity is sourced from renewables, putting it well ahead of its self-imposed clean energy goals. To her, geothermal could fill in the remaining 60%.

“There is a possibility that we could switch our entire electric grid over to clean power fueled by solar, wind and geothermal, and the math is penciling for that,” Stair said. “And, at the same time, still be pumping oil and gas out of the Permian [Basin] for use elsewhere in other states.”

New Mexico heavily relies on the revenue generated from the oil and gas industry to prop up its economy, and is slowly diversifying its portfolio by shoring up permanent funds and investing in other industries.

In 2024, Stair and her team were tasked by the legislature to develop rules and regulations for geothermal permitting and a separate grant and loan program to help fund projects.

Her department is still drafting those rules, but Stair said these initiatives are a huge investment, because geothermal will only be possible with private-public partnerships to construct those expensive geothermal power plants.

“I think the ball is in our court right now, and we’re hopefully carrying it hard and fast,” Stair added.

Still, she hopes the state will fund mapping options to pinpoint the ideal places for geothermal, who owns that land, and nearest transmission lines to evaluate infrastructure needs.

At the Roundhouse, lawmakers continue to be enthusiastic about geothermal and say they’re open to funding more research.

“It’s a pretty win-win deal,” said State Sen. Pat Woods (R-Grady). “We’ve got the oil and gas industry that is very efficient at digging these deep wells.”

A longtime supporter of the oil and gas industry, Woods thinks that together, fossil fuels and geothermal could bring new rural jobs, but he’s not totally convinced it’s a silver bullet.

“I think it’s a hell of an idea, but it’s a ways out,” Woods said.
Woods is clear: he doesn’t want to replace oil and gas anytime soon. For now it keeps crucial dollars flowing to his constituents in the far northeastern stretch of the state.

​However, state analysts predict that fossil fuel production will start to decline sharply in the near future – maybe by 2035 – raising real questions about New Mexico’s plan to tackle the energy and economic gaps it will leave behind.