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International events may have energy prices soaring, but Utah may have a homegrown solution to power generation.

The Beehive State is a top producer of geothermal energy, one of only seven states that produce utility-scale geothermal electricity. While Utah's geothermal power output is currently small, experts say its potential is massive.

Michael Vander Berg, energy and minerals program manager for the Utah Geological Survey, says Utah's bright prospects are driven by its geology .

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"You have just a natural elevated heat flow in this region," he said, "which means you have hot rock closer to the surface, which then we can take advantage of for geothermal."

Three utility-scale geothermal plants are operating in western Utah, along with a number of direct-use facilities that use thermal energy for greenhouses, aquaculture and recreational purposes. The U.S. Department of Energy also operates a major testing site, Utah FORGE, near Milford.

Geothermal resources generate electricity by tapping heat from underground rock formations and using the resulting steam to run electric generators. At the moment, Vander Berg said, this type of renewable power produces only a small portion of the state's overall energy needs.

"The overall capacity for those three geothermal power plants in Utah is 73 megawatts," he said. "Compare that to our coal-fired power plants; we have 4,685 megawatts."

In 2024, Utah used about 35 gigawatt hours of electricity from all sources, including coal, gas, water, solar and wind. But Vander Berg said Utah could cover a significant portion of that amount with its geothermal reserves.

"The potential in Utah is huge," he said, "up to 49,400 megawatts – potential geothermal capacity of which we've only currently developed 0.1 percent."

Utah ranks third among the states for geothermal power, behind California and Nevada. Other states that produced significant amounts of geothermal electricity are Hawaii, Idaho, New Mexico and Oregon.