State evaluates geothermal, hydrogen energy to help Colorado become 100% renewable

Colorado’s goal is to transition to 100% renewable energy by 2040. The state sees geothermal and hydrogen energy as important parts of that transition.

New state reports say geothermal and hydrogen offer significant opportunities to expand energy from wind, solar and batteries as the state, utilities and communities seek to mitigate the effects of climate change. The reports examine the potential for more energy sources in Colorado, as well as the benefits, challenges, economics and mechanics.

The recently released analyses are one of several steps the Colorado General Assembly is taking to increase its use of renewable energy sources.

Another was expanding the responsibilities of the former Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to regulate geothermal energy. The agency, renamed the Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission, has proposed regulations for what is expected to be a growing industry in the state. The first hearing is Aug. 5.

“We will be 80% renewable by 2030 and 100% renewable by 2040,” said Governor Jared Polis.

Solar and wind will always be the workhorses in the drive to transition away from fossil fuels, Polis said. But as fuel sources reach about 85% renewables, there will be a need for “a steady, 365-day, 24-hour supply” to replace natural gas, he added.

“This is playing into that 10% to 20% that we need to be above solar, storage and wind,” Polis said.

In some circles, there is consideration of building new, smaller nuclear power generators.

Polis is particularly bullish on geothermal energy. “There’s a huge potential, mainly because of our seismology. We have a lot of subsurface heat in Colorado.”

During his term as chairman of the Western Governors’ Association, Polis led an effort to encourage geothermal development in the West. The group’s report, “The Heat Beneath Our Feet,” states that the U.S. accounts for 25 percent of the world’s installed geothermal capacity, and the West contains 95 percent of that capacity.

According to a new state report, the areas in Colorado with the greatest potential for geothermal electricity production, due to high groundwater temperatures, are the Upper Arkansas Valley, the Raton Basin, the Piceance Basin, the San Juan Basin and a site in the Denver Basin in the eastern part of the state.

While most of the state east of the Front Range has the lowest estimated thermal resources, geothermal methods can also be used there, the report said. Colorado has long tapped geothermal energy from its many thermal springs. The pumps use the heat from the ground to both heat and cool buildings.

Will Toor, executive director of the Colorado Energy Office, said the response to the state’s geothermal grant program has been encouraging. The state awarded $7.7 million in grants in May to 35 projects across the state.

Denver-based Gradient Geothermal has received $100,000 to evaluate the feasibility of developing a thermal energy network by converting oil and gas operations in the Pierce area in eastern Colorado. Toor said the grants will be used for preliminary research into using geothermal energy to produce electricity in Steamboat Springs and at the University of Colorado-Boulder.

“In order to get funding, they had to come up with a way to finance” the projects, Polis said.

Geothermal companies have explored partnerships with oil and gas operators in Colorado and other Western states to use geothermal resources to generate electricity. Oil and gas wells are sometimes reused to draw water for plants where the hot fluids drive generator turbines.

Toor said oil and gas fields in northeastern Colorado could also be good places for geothermal resources. “There’s a good chance that oil and gas workers will take their existing skills and apply them to geothermal energy production, even in similar locations.”

While Polis is also enthusiastic about using hydrogen as a zero-emission fuel, he acknowledged there is some controversy surrounding the resource.

Hydrogen is seen as a way to “decarbonize” shipping, steelmaking, and other heavy industrial applications. Hydrogen is used in oil refining, fertilizer production, rocket fuel, and to power vehicles.

Part of the controversy surrounding hydrogen stems from the fact that most hydrogen currently used comes from fossil fuels. NovoHydrogen, a startup in Golden, is producing “green” hydrogen that uses renewable energy to power electrolysis, a process that splits water into hydrogen and oxygen.

The U.S. Department of Energy has selected NovoHydrogen to participate in one of seven regional centers for the development of hydrogen as an energy source. The federal Inflation Reduction Act includes tax credits for green hydrogen projects.

Xcel Energy-Colorado has proposed blending hydrogen with natural gas at its plants to reduce emissions and potentially burning 100% hydrogen.

Hydrogen, like natural gas, can be chemically unstable, but in different ways, Polis said. States, utilities and companies will need to examine what changes might be needed to existing pipelines to safely transport hydrogen.

“We’re getting the data, the science, on what exactly we need to do to make it safe or safer than natural gas,” Polis said.

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