As the districts want outsource much-needed clean, reliable energy, others are looking to an unconventional source: abandoned oil and gas wells trapped in geothermal heat.
Millions of inactive wells are dotted across the United States, remnants of an earlier era of petroleum production. A large number of sites have no legal owner, and many are still polluting groundwater and leaking greenhouse gas methane. The country is not very clear in dealing with this problem.
Policy makers in both Republican and Democratic states are exploring whether these areas can be turned into new sources of geothermal energy production. Holes have been drilled in the ground, after all. And regions with widespread oil and gas development have rich underground data that geothermal firms need to decide where and how to build their carbon-neutral systems.
The concept is new and untested, although scientists and startups are working to change that. Countries are also laying the groundwork for action by removing regulatory barriers and launching in-depth studies.
In Oklahoma, the state Senate is considering a bill that would create a process for companies to buy abandoned oil and gas wells and repurpose them for geothermal energy or underground energy storage. Oklahoma has identified more than 20,000 such wells, and state regulators estimate it will take 235 years and hundreds of millions of dollars to plug them all. Fixing one old well can cost anywhere from $75,000 to $150,000 or more, by some estimates, depending on where you are and how complicated the cleanup is.
The Well Repurposing Act, which passed the Oklahoma House in March, is followed by a similar law passed by New Mexico last year to address its more than 2,000 orphan wells.
Oklahoma’s bill “recognizes that these wells are a liability, and that there may be a way to turn them into some kind of revenue generator and give them value,” said Dave Tragethon, director of communications for the nonprofit Well Done Foundation, which works to find and close abandoned oil and gas wells across the country. “And if there’s a benefit, that means there’s more willingness to deal with them and more opportunity to increase funding.”
In Alabama, lawmakers passed a law last month that allows the state to authorize and regulate the conversion of oil and gas wells for alternative energy resources such as geothermal. North Dakota passed a bill last year that required the legislature to examine the feasibility of using non-productive sources to generate geothermal energy. And in Colorado, state agencies recently launched a technical study to explore the potential of repurposing old wells for geothermal development and carbon sequestration and sequestration.
These efforts reflect growing bipartisan support for geothermal energy, which remains undeterred by the Trump administration’s efforts to block renewable energy projects. The energy source has the potential to help meet the nation’s growing energy demand while also reducing planet-warming emissions from gas and heating.
Converting Sources Is Enticing But Complicated
Geothermal systems work by circulating fluids underground to capture naturally occurring heat, which can be used to drive generators or directly heat air and water in buildings. The industry is booming due to recent advances in drilling methods and technology making it technically possible or financially feasible to access geothermal energy in many areas.
Much of this success comes from the oil and gas industry, whose skilled workforce of drilling engineers and geoscientists, along with deep corporate pockets, have helped launch and install state-of-the-art systems. However, most of that technology and funding is being poured into building new projects—not finding a way to rehabilitate the leaking resources left behind by previous generations.
