Cornell University’s vision for district heating with an enhanced geothermal system

Recent technological advances achieved at the Utah Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy and Fervo Energy in Utah and Nevada demonstrated the feasibility of enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) for electricity generation. While subsurface temperatures in the central and eastern USA generally do not support economically viable geothermal electricity production, formation temperatures suitable for direct heat generation are widely accessible across the region. To assess the feasibility of an EGS for direct-use district heating applications in the northeastern USA, Cornell University drilled the Cornell University Borehole Observatory (CUBO) in 2022 to a total depth of 3 km (∼10 000 ft). This paper briefly summarises key insights gained from the geologic, hydrologic, thermal, mechanical and seismic data collected, outlines the earth source heat programme for a Northeastern EGS pilot at Cornell, highlights related research opportunities in computational geomechanics, energy systems engineering and optimisation, and provides references to detailed analyses and comprehensive interpretations from CUBO.