Racing to tap clean energy

Pipes in an older geothermal field near the Fervo geothermal drilling site outside of Milford, Utah. Traditional geothermal plants rely on underground hot water reservoirs that are relatively rare. — ©2023 The New York Times Company

IN a sagebrush valley full of wind turbines and solar panels in western Utah, Tim Latimer gazed up at a very different device he believes could be just as powerful for fighting climate change – maybe even more.

It was a drilling rig, of all things, transplanted from the oil fields of North Dakota. But the softly whirring rig wasn’t searching for fossil fuels. It was drilling for heat.