A significant energy source has been found beneath the US-Mexico border on the Rio Grande

Homes in Presidio, Texas, contrast with Ojinaga, a small town of 28,000 people, in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico, February 1, 2020, as seen from Presidio, Texas. (Photo by PAUL RATJE/AFP, Getty Images)

(NewsNation) — Scientists have discovered a significant source of geothermal energy beneath the U.S.-Mexico border along the Rio Grande, which could lead to promising prospects for clean energy development in the rural region.

These discoveries were the result of several months of research by the University of Texas at Austin’s Office of Economic Geology, which showed that the region of Presidio County, Texas, bordering Mexico, had the conditions necessary for geothermal development.

“There’s a narrow, 10- to 15-mile region that runs parallel to or along the Rio Grande that’s very warm, at least by most standards, and even in the interior part of the county, which is probably two-thirds of the county,” Ken Wisian, head of the study, told NewsNation.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, geothermal energy is a clean, renewable energy source produced deep in the Earth’s core that can be used to generate heat and electricity.

These findings are important because although the United States is the largest producer of geothermal energy in the world, it uses less than half a percent of the total grid, which is an incredibly large amount, Wisian said.

County authorities welcomed the study’s conclusions as they are excited by the prospect of creating a geothermal power plant, which will inevitably create new jobs and reduce energy costs for local communities.

Presidio is one of the poorest counties in the USA.

“Geothermal energy development would encompass virtually everything they outlined in their economic development plan,” Wisian said, adding that the energy could serve as a significant source for agriculture and industry.

It could generate much more electricity than it needs, which means the county could potentially sell the excess back to the grid or attract new businesses, he said.

“Geothermal energy has a lot to offer rural communities, underserved communities, something like the Presidio is checking every block for very large federal investments in manufacturing in the form of renewable energy tax credits,” Wisian said.

The community is already considering how to raise funds to implement the project.

“Let’s just get together and draft proposals, and then we’ll go to the county and say, ‘Look, this is what we came up with,’” Trey Gerfers, director of the county’s groundwater district, said, according to ThinkGeoEnergy.

While this may be optimal from an environmental perspective, Presidio County has political resonance because it sits on the Mexican border and serves as a point of entry for migrants seeking asylum.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has recorded just over 3,000 migrant “encounters” this fiscal year in the Big Bend area, where Presidio is located, a 63% drop from the same time last year.

Wisian, however, says he doesn’t believe geothermal energy extraction poses any threat to border security because drilling requires little space and can take place within the Texas portion of the border.

He added that the plant could potentially inspire Mexico to launch its own geothermal energy production on its side of the border, where the same underground heat is also available.