Is geothermal energy starting to see light in Harrisburg?

A new state legislative study and legislation suggest a greater focus on tapping geothermal energy to help meet Pennsylvania’s energy needs.

The Joint State Government Commission released a study this month identifying nearly 400 potential sites near flooded coal mines that could be tapped for geothermal energy.

Reps. Elizabeth Fiedler, D-Philadelphia, majority chair of the House Energy Committee; Arvind Venkat, D-Allegheny, and Craig Williams, R-Delaware, are drafting legislation to establish state regulation of geothermal energy.

“Geothermal energy is a potentially limitless, always-on power source that could provide clean, locally sourced heat and electricity to millions of Pennsylvania residents and businesses,” they said.

The focus on geothermal energy comes as Pennsylvania seeks to meet rising demand for power from consumers, data centers and artificial intelligence.

Geothermal energy is an underground source of power usually associated with hot springs and geysers in the western states.

It’s used in electric power plants, heating and heat pumps.

Technological advances in reaching underground heat sources opens prospects for geothermal energy in Pennsylvania.

This is called “next generation geothermal.”

This is reminiscent of the debut of new fracking technology nearly 20 years ago opening the deep Marcellus Shale reserves for natural gas drilling.

Next generation technology involves drilling wells into the rock and using hydraulic fluid to capture heat and bring it to the surface. While gas fracking opens fissures so gas can escape, the goal of geothermal fracking is to create self-sustaining reservoirs, the study said.

Explore mine pools

The prospect of using flooded coal mines as a source of geothermal energy is explored in the study.

Pennsylvania is full of abandoned coal mines that filled with water over the decades.

This is especially so in the anthracite region of Northeast Pennsylvania. The 1959 Knox Mine Disaster near Wilkes-Barre broke through the Susquehanna River and flooded miles of underground mines.

Today Marywood University in Scranton taps a mine pool beneath campus to cool a building.

The study identifies 382 potential sites where mine pools can be harnessed for geothermal energy. Allegheny County leads the list followed by Cambria, Luzerne, Fayette, Lackawanna, Westmoreland, Clearfield, Schuylkill and Somerset counties.

Legislative initiatives

Lawmakers should consider creating a new legal definition for geothermal energy, setting legal ownership for abandoned mines and seeking primacy from Washington for geothermal energy regulation, the study said.

The pending House bill establishes a regulatory framework for next-generation geothermal energy development, the sponsors said.

The bill:

– Gives the state Department of Environmental Protection authority to regulate and permit geothermal injection wells.

– Allows repurposing abandoned oil and gas wells as geothermal wells

– Establishes subsurface ownership rights for geothermal resources

– Creates a new legal definition of geothermal resources