The U.S. Department of Energy has opened a major funding round dedicated to geothermal energy, making up to $171.5 million available for next-generation field tests and exploration drilling as the industry pushes toward commercial scale. What the funding coversOn February 25, 2026, the DOE’s Office of Geothermal announced up to $171.5 million to support next-generation geothermal field tests, as well as characterization and confirmation drilling for next-generation and conventional hydrothermal resources. The Next-Generation Geothermal Research and Development Act, H.R. The technology gap the money targetsConventional geothermal power depends on naturally occurring underground reservoirs of hot water or steam, which are geographically limited. The new DOE funding is designed to push the cost curve further down at the field scale, where laboratory results have not always translated cleanly to commercial projects.