地热能——一种从地球自然热量中获取的电力——在当今极度极化的美国正取得一项非凡的成就：赢得了跨越整个政治光谱的支持者。
Geothermal — power drawn from the Earth's natural heat — is pulling off something remarkable in today's hyper-polarized America: Winning fans across the political spectrum. Why it matters:
为何重要：这种跨党派的吸引力，加上来自人工智能激增的电力需求，正在助推对这一尚未证明能够实现规模化竞争的小众能源的投资。
The bipartisan appeal, combined with surging electricity demand from is helping fuel investment in a niche energy source yet to prove it can compete at scale. Driving the news:
推动新闻：在上月底推出的一份旨在加快基础设施审批的跨党派参议院法案中，地热能受到了异常广泛的关注。今年夏天，众议院通过了一揽子包含多项相同地热条款的法案，其中包括由意识形态截然不同的议员（如众议员亚历山大·奥卡西奥-科尔特斯〔民主党-纽约州〕和迈克·肯尼迪〔共和党-得克萨斯州〕）发起的各项措施。
Geothermal received unusually extensive attention in a bipartisan Senate bill introduced late last month to expedite infrastructure permitting • The House this summer passed a package containing several of the same geothermal provisions, including measures sponsored by lawmakers as ideologically distant as Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Mike Kennedy (R-Utah).
日益提升的声望地热能声望的提升是三大趋势交汇的产物：
The rising cachet of geothermal is the product of three trends converging:
- 从石油和天然气行业改编而来的技术（包括水力压裂法）使得在偏远温泉和火山之外的更多地方开发热能成为可能。
• Technologies adapted from the oil and gas industry, including fracking, are making it possible to tap heat in more places than just far-flung hot springs and volcanoes.
- 搜寻可靠电力的科技公司愿意为下一代地热能支付溢价，以为数据中心供电。
• Tech companies, on the hunt for reliable electricity, are willing to pay a premium for next-generation geothermal to power data centers.
- 随着各大公司竞相扩大可全天候发电的可再生能源规模，投资正在激增。
• Investment is surging as companies race to scale a renewable energy source that can generate power around the clock.
快速了解：参议院法案中针对地热能的条款比向包括风能和太阳能在内的其他可再生能源提供的更广泛审批改革走得更远。
Catch up quick: The geothermal-specific provisions in the Senate bill go further than the broader permitting reforms offered to other renewable energy sources, including wind and solar.
- 该法案将使地热能开发商更容易勘探和租赁联邦土地，加快钻探审批，并免除某些活动的环保审查。
• The bill would make it easier for geothermal developers to explore and lease federal land, speed up drilling permits and exempt certain activities from environmental reviews.
- 在共和党去年推出的全面税收法案中，地热能保留了联邦清洁能源税收抵免，而风能和太阳能则面临加速逐步取消的境地。
• Geothermal retained federal clean-energy tax credits in Republicans' sweeping tax law last year, even as wind and solar faced an accelerated phaseout. State of play:
现状： Fervo能源公司是一家于今年早些时候上市的先进地热能公司，正处于这一融合的前沿。它于近十年前由前油气行业钻探工程师蒂姆·拉蒂默创立。
Fervo Energy, an advanced geothermal company that went public earlier this year, is at the leading edge of this convergence. It was founded nearly a decade ago by Tim Latimer, a former drilling engineer in the oil and gas industry.
“我想我们当中没有人看到”拉蒂默在最近接受Axios舞台采访时表示，在2017年时会料到几年后我们会陷入有史以来经历过的最大电力需求热潮。该访谈活动恰如其分地命名为“无人争论的能源”。
"I don't think any of us saw in 2017 that a few years later we would be in the biggest demand power boom for electricity that we had ever experienced," said Latimer during a recent on-stage interview with Axios in an event aptly titled "The energy source nobody argues about."
- 人工智能热潮“极大地加速了我们的业务”。图表：艾米·哈德尔/Axios；注：其他包括项目融资和债务。Fervo的首次公开募股收益反映的是其上市时筹集的资本，而非当前市值；数据：Currence。
• The AI boom has "accelerated our business tremendously." Chart: Amy Harder/Axios; Note: Other includes project finance and debt. Fervo's IPO proceeds reflect capital raised at the time of its listing, not its current market value; Data: Currence
引人注目之处：地热能的吸引力能够跨越传统的政治分歧，正是因为它并不完全符合华盛顿常规的能源政策框架。
The intrigue: Geothermal's appeal crosses traditional political divisions precisely because it doesn't fit neatly into Washington's usual energy-policy boxes.
- 其可再生特性吸引了民主党人。
• Its renewable characteristics appeal to Democrats.
- 它对钻探专业知识的依赖以及与石油和天然气行业的重叠吸引了共和党人。
• Its reliance on drilling expertise and overlap with the oil and gas industry appeals to Republicans.
- 它提供稳定、零碳电力的能力使其对公用事业公司和科技公司极具吸引力。
• Its ability to provide stable, carbon-free electricity makes it attractive to utilities and tech companies.
用数字说话：联邦地热能租赁的平均中标价已经飙升，反映出商业兴趣的日益浓厚。
By the numbers: The average winning bid for federal geothermal leases has surged, reflecting growing commercial interest.
- 市场情报公司Currence的地热分析师盖伊·科恩表示，2023年的平均中标价为每英亩10美元，而今年迄今为止，平均价格已达182美元。
• The average winning bid in 2023 was $10 an acre, and so far this year, the average is $182, according to Guy Cohen, a geothermal analyst at the market intelligence firm Currence.
- 今年夏天，犹他州的一块地块创下了每英亩1,207美元的竞标纪录。
• A record $1,207-an-acre bid was placed for a single parcel in Utah this summer. Reality check:
现实检验：地热能的政治热度和投资热潮跑在了商业现实的前面。这项技术依然成本高昂，且对其能否在几十年里可靠发电的质疑依然存在。
Geothermal's political popularity and investment boom are running ahead of its commercial reality. The technology remains expensive, and questions persist about whether it can reliably generate electricity over decades.
- 地热能目前产生的美国电力不到1%，那些令人惊叹的租赁权是为了地热勘探权，而不是为了活跃的地热井。
• Geothermal currently generates less than 1% of U.S. electricity, and those eye-popping leases are for the right to explore for geothermal, not for active geothermal wells.
- 在Axios Pro所称的能源初创企业更广泛的放缓背景下，Fervo的股价已从其今年早些时候上市首日的收盘价下跌了近70%。
• Fervo's stock has fallen nearly 70% from its first-day closing price following its IPO earlier this year, amid what Axios Pro calls a broader slowdown among energy startups.
- Fervo的政府事务和政策经理汤姆·埃尔布表示，其犹他州旗舰项目的建设成本约为新建核电站的一半。他承认地下热能会随着时间推移而减弱，需要进行额外的钻探，但表示这些成本已纳入公司的预测之中。
• Tom Erb, Fervo's government affairs and policy manager, says the construction costs at its flagship project in Utah are about half those of new nuclear plants. He acknowledged that underground heat can diminish over time, requiring additional drilling, but said those costs are factored into company projections.
各方言论：曾在拜登政府能源部任职的前官员吉加尔·沙阿表示，地热能目前的势头仍然取决于鼓励清洁电力的州级政策以及愿意支付溢价的科技公司。
What they're saying: Jigar Shah, a former Energy Department official under President Biden, says geothermal's current momentum still depends on state policies encouraging clean electricity and tech companies willing to pay a premium.
- 沙阿说：“我认为如果没有来自各州或数据中心的超越市场的指令，这个时刻是不会奏效的。”
• "I don't think this moment would work without above market mandates from states or the data centers," Shah said. Friction point:
摩擦点：地热能也遇到了地方反对，特别是在水资源方面。
Geothermal has also encountered local opposition, particularly over water.
- 生物多样性中心帕特里克·唐纳利表示，传统的地热项目可能会破坏对野生动物至关重要的温泉和湿地。
• Traditional geothermal projects can disrupt hot springs and wetlands critical to wildlife, said Patrick Donnelly of the Center for Biological Diversity.
- 他说，像Fervo这样较新的技术避免了其中一些风险，但人们对它们的耗水量仍存疑问。
• Newer technologies like Fervo's avoid some of those risks, he said, but questions remain about their water consumption.
地热能在华盛顿找到了一种罕见的东西：政治共识。现在的考验是，这种共识能否经受住行业发展的考验。
Geothermal has found something rare in Washington: Political consensus. The test now is whether that consensus survives the industry's growth.