Texas is a national leader in all types of energy, including not only oil and gas, but solar, wind, nuclear; the state produces more of these types of energy than any other -- but now there's geothermal energy.

What's geothermal? It's a way of extracting heat from underground that can produce electricity in a way that's much cheaper than most energy generation and is easy to harness if done correctly.

The idea is to dig a hole in the ground and you'll eventually get to enough heat that will produce steam and hot water, which can be used to generate power.

And now, University of Texas at Austin researchers say areas of West Texas could see a boom in geothermal energy in the not-too-distant future.

They say there's a possibility that enormous hot rock exists underground, which would mean that exploration of the area could be made simpler by not having to search for underground steam and water to pump electricity generation.

All energy explorers would have to do is find underground areas where the rock is hot, then inject water into it, the way water is very forcefully injected into the ground to stir up oil and force it out of the ground in the fracing industry.

We already know Texas is number one in America for producing oil and gas and is number one in electricity production sourced from wind towers and solar panels, but UT scientists say if research can be done quick enough, the state could become a leader in geothermal energy pretty quickly if ideas are implemented soon.

Geothermal is among the safest forms of energy:

Environmentalists like it because it's clean, with almost no pollution.

Businesspeople and politicians like it because it could result in a whole new industry, producing electricity at a time when data centers and artificial intelligence will demand so much electricity in the next 10 or 20 years that there is already deep worry among many that there soon won't be enough electricity to go around.

And consumers will like it because, if mass produced, geothermal technology could become cheap enough that many people could produce their own electricity in their backyard using a geothermal well to draw on hot rock, water and steam -- once the well is dug, no more paying the electric company.

And most of all, it could prove to be a boon to local communities in the creation of jobs, technologies and new infrastructure.

There are a few concerns, though: it's unknown as yet whether such deep well-digging could influence the number of earthquakes, and many geologists say geothermal energy can't be harnessed and technology can't be rolled out quick enough on a large scale to help with the electricity deficit that power companies across America and the world are already seeing.

Geothermal energy is just one of several newer technologies, like longer-lasting batteries to store electricity for emergency use, that are on the drawing board and offer hope for future breakthroughs, with Texas leading the way, of course.

Jimmy Barrett

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