Just In: Google to Spend $10 Million on Geothermal Research

Google is putting more than $10 million toward geothermal technology, the company has just announced.

Google’s “.org” branch is investing the cash in Enhanced Geothermal Systems — tools that generate electricity by fracturing hot rocks and circulating water into the openings, thereby recreating geothermal conditions found in nature.

Some of the funding, Google says, will be used to help create next-generation geothermal resource mapping and a “policy agenda” for geothermal energy.

“While the US debates drilling in the ocean for oil, we are focused on drilling for renewable energy … right beneath our feet,” the company asserts.