Four teams will probe what lies beneath parts of New Mexico to see whether it can support geothermal power plants, Source NM reports.
The state awarded $17.3 million from its Geothermal Projects Development Fund, created by lawmakers in 2024. New Mexico Tech received the largest grant, $10 million, to drill a test well in Socorro County. New Mexico State University received $2.85 million to study the Las Cruces area, and the Jicarilla Apache Nation and San Ildefonso Pueblo also received grants for work near Dulce and for modeling and exploration.
Rebecca "Puck" Stair, director of the state Energy Conservation and Management Division, told Source NM that all four grants focus on research into the subsurface. She said the state expects to know whether the sites are viable by June 30, 2027, and will make the data public.
Stair said private developers are eager to move once early data arrives, and that geothermal work could let oil and gas workers apply their drilling skills to clean energy. She also said there is a waiting list of other proposals for the fund, which is open to local governments, schools, universities and tribal nations.
What's Next
The state expects results on whether the four sites can support geothermal power by June 30, 2027, and plans to release the data publicly.
Why It Matters
The $17.3 million in grants goes to New Mexico Tech, New Mexico State University, the Jicarilla Apache Nation and San Ildefonso Pueblo, and other applicants are on a waiting list for the fund.
About This Story
Daily Reports is Brant.One’s news roundup. Each day we gather the New Mexico stories worth knowing from newsrooms across the state, sum them up and point you to the source. This one comes from Source NM’s reporting, and their original story has the interviews and full details.
Editor’s note: Updated Oct. 31, 2026. This story is now part of Daily Reports, our New Mexico news roundup, and was revised to credit Source NM’s original reporting. Learn how Daily Reports works in our editorial standards.
