A new DOE Office of Geothermal article highlights Utah FORGE’s role in advancing enhanced geothermal systems research and helping bring geothermal energy into broader commercial focus. The article traces Utah FORGE’s development from DOE’s 2014 call for a dedicated EGS field test site through major milestones, including highly deviated geothermal wells, reservoir creation, fiber optic monitoring, public data sharing, and $90 million in supported research and technology testing. It also connects Utah FORGE’s open data and field-scale research to industry progress, including Fervo Energy’s nearby Cape Station project and growing market confidence in EGS.
The article also emphasizes Utah FORGE’s broader value to the geothermal industry beyond the research site itself. By making more than 133 terabytes of technical data publicly available through DOE’s Geothermal Data Repository, Utah FORGE is helping researchers, companies, investors, and project developers better understand EGS conditions and reduce uncertainty. The article points to Fervo Energy as one example of how FORGE’s research and open data are informing commercial geothermal development, including Fervo’s Cape Station project adjacent to the Utah FORGE site.