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The Future is Electric

The Future is Electric is the house journal of TFIE Strategy Inc, a firm which assists global clients to future proof themselves in our rapidly changing world of business and technical innovation, and geopolitical and climate disruption.

ChatGPT generated panoramic aerial view of a large geothermal power plant in Indonesia, showcasing steam rising from production wells within a lush volcanic landscape

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Between Hot Rocks and Hard Places

The Slow Climb of Conventional Geothermal in a Rapid Renewable Age

7 min readMay 12, 2025

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Conventional geothermal electrical generation, where conditions are right, is an excellent form of renewable generation. It keeps chugging along day and night, offering firmed power with some of the highest capacity factors in the business and very low emissions per MWh. Yet, despite its many advantages, geothermal often gets left out of the clean energy conversation. Let’s dig into this a bit.

As a note, this is one in a series of articles on geothermal. The scope of the series is outlined in the introductory piece. If your interest area or concern isn’t reflected in the introductory piece, please leave a comment.

Geothermal power plants don’t rely on burning fuel. Instead, they tap into the Earth’s natural heat to generate steam, which then spins a turbine to produce electricity. Simple in theory, but not all geothermal plants are created equal.

The most common design is the flash steam plant, which pulls up high-pressure hot water from underground reservoirs. As the pressure drops, some of the water “flashes” into steam, which is then routed through a turbine to generate electricity. If there’s still enough heat left after the first flash, the remaining water can be flashed again in a double-flash…

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The Future is Electric
The Future is Electric

Published in The Future is Electric

The Future is Electric is the house journal of TFIE Strategy Inc, a firm which assists global clients to future proof themselves in our rapidly changing world of business and technical innovation, and geopolitical and climate disruption.

Michael Barnard
Michael Barnard

Written by Michael Barnard

Climate futurist and advisor. Founder TFIE. Advisor FLIMAX. Podcast Redefining Energy - Tech.

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