To provide clean energy for future generations, CEO and founder of supermarket chain Kobe Bussan, Shoji Numata is building a geothermal power plant on the island of Kyushu in southern Japan. The plant is scheduled to be completed within a year, and has potential to provide electricity to approximately 8,000 homes. “It’s a stable power source 24 hours a day, and it has the lowest carbon dioxide emissions among renewable energies,” Numata said in an interview with ABC News Australia. “I am determined to spend all the money I have for the sake of the next generation.”

A site near the Sembawang hot spring in Singapore has recently been discovered to harbour water temperatures of 60°C to 90°C at a depth of 1.1km. This is hotter than water found at similar depths in many European countries. Furthermore, the geological landscape under Singapore contains suitable conditions for rock to retain a substantial amount of heat. This site and the Sembawang hot spring are located in the geological region called the Simpang Granite Pluton, where granite is found. Granite is rich in elements like uranium, thorium, and potassium, making it highly effective in both heat transfer and storage. Singapore’s demand for geothermal extraction from hot rock, for example, can be met with Eavor-Loop™ technology, as it harnesses underground heat through a closed-loop system. Furthermore, the very low land footprint makes these systems exceptionally compatible with high-density populated areas.

Eavor’s proprietary closed-loop technology will be deployed in an exploratory district heating project in the Estonian city of Narva. Carlos Cariaga, reporter for energy news outlet ThinkGeoEnergy, covered the announcement of an agreement between Geothermal Baltic OÜ and Eesti Energia, otherwise known as Enefit, to develop a next-generation geothermal project using Eavor-Loop™ technology. Published on February 15, Cariaga’s article cites sustainability and energy affordability as major motivating factors driving the project.

GT Energy, a UK-based geothermal heat developer, has been selected by the Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust, in collaboration with the Carbon and Energy Fund (CEF), to provide direct heating for the Salisbury District Hospital NHS Trust in Wiltshire, England. According to ThinkGeo, the main objective of this project is to meet the hospital’s complete heat requirements (which currently exceed 20GWhth per year) through a long-term energy supply agreement. Additionally, while the project aims to seek funding from the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) in the future, its progress is not dependent on receiving a grant from the PSDS. GT Energy will undertake the responsibility of de-risking and developing the geothermal project, such as initial geological feasibility studies to obtain necessary consents and overseeing the construction of wells and the energy centre. It’s anticipated that heat supply will begin as early as 2026, which is subject to regular planning processes, regulatory permits, and procurement cycles. Upon completion, GT Energy is expected to assume ownership and operation of the facility.

Geothermal exploration activities are scheduled to commence in the Adana and Sivas provinces of Turkey. The General Directorate of Mineral Research and Exploration (MTA) has obtained the AR:18 License for an extensive area covering 4,983.5 hectares in the Adana province. As part of this license, the MTA intends to drill a well in the Kuzgun Village of Karaisali District, with an estimated project cost of approximately 10 million TL (equivalent to around USD 503,000). The planned borehole will reach a depth of 2,000 meters. In addition, the MTA has also planned geothermal exploration in the Yildizeli district of Sivas Province, which encompasses an area of 5,400 square meters within the larger 4,999-hectare territory covered by the AR:28 License. The drilling of proposed boreholes, expected to be 600 (+100) meters deep, will provide valuable information about the geothermal potential in the region.

The American Federal Government is currently investing billions of dollars to expedite a transition to clean energy, and Professor at Princeton University and Eavor Advisor, Jesse Jenkins urges that huge changes to the electrical grid are needed to make that transition successful. Reporter Scott Patterson of the Wall Street Journal wrote an article detailing the importance of Jenkins and his team’s research at ZERO lab. This research contributed valuable insights towards climate laws and legislation that will efficiently reduce carbon emissions in the US. Jenkins attributed that he and his team’s main objective was to assist the government in achieving a climate law that “helped Senate staff target their most bang-for-the-buck provisions.” The article highlights that Jenkins and his team secured nearly $6 million in funds from nonprofit foundations, federal agencies, Bill Gates’s Breakthrough Energy, Google, and General Electric, which helped construct components of President Biden’s Build Back Better act. The act did not accumulate enough votes to be passed through the Senate; however, Jenkins’ research warned that if a bill wasn’t passed to incentivize a transition to a renewable power grid, emissions from the power sector would worsen by 2030.