• videocam Live Webinar with Live Q&A
  • calendar_month December 17, 2026 @ 1:00 PM ET/ 10:00 AM PT
  • signal_cellular_alt Beginner
  • card_travel Energy
  • schedule 90 minutes

Next-Generation Geothermal Energy Projects: EGS, Closed-Loop Systems, Permitting, and Project Development

Navigating Subsurface Rights, Water Use, Induced Seismicity, Regulatory Frameworks, and Commercialization

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$297.00
$252.45
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Discount expires 12/3/26

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About the Course

Introduction

This CLE webinar will discuss next-generation geothermal energy projects, including enhanced geothermal systems (EGS), closed-loop systems, and other emerging technologies designed to expand geothermal development beyond conventional hydrothermal resources. The panel will examine the legal and regulatory issues that arise as developers use new technology and techniques to produce or store energy.

Description

Geothermal development is attracting new attention as some drilling and related technologies from the oil and gas industry are adapted for energy generation. EGS projects can create or reopen fractures in hot rock and move fluid through the formation to recover heat, while closed-loop systems capture underground heat without reliance upon naturally occurring hydrothermal resources. Newer approaches are testing how to use geologic formations for thermal or pressure-based energy storage.

These projects do not always fit neatly within existing geothermal, oil and gas, water, or mineral-rights frameworks. Project counsel must determine who controls the geothermal resource and subsurface rights, what rights are required to drill, inject, circulate, and recover fluids, and which federal and state agencies have jurisdiction over project development.

Developers may also face challenges around varied state regulatory frameworks, water use rights, induced seismicity, fracture migration, environmental review, and more. 

Listen as our panel discusses how these issues affect projects, including how counsel can address subsurface and resource uncertainty in development agreements and other project contracts.

Presented By

Andrea Driggs
Partner
Holland & Hart

Ms. Driggs delivers strategic counsel to mining and energy clients on permitting and regulatory matters, leveraging her deep industry expertise in critical minerals and renewables development. Licensed in five western states, she helps mining and energy clients navigate cross-jurisdictional environmental and natural resource issues. Ms. Driggs guides clients through complex environmental permitting and regulatory challenges. She focuses on critical mineral mining, conventional and renewable energy development, and contaminated site remediation. Ms. Driggs practice includes obtaining and defending key permits, conducting environmental due diligence for large transactions, and advising on National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Clean Water Act (CWA), and National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) reviews for exploration and mine plans. She also assists conventional and renewable energy developers with essential permits for solar, wind, and battery storage projects, including Certificates of Environmental Compatibility from Arizona’s Corporation Commission.

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Credit Information

  • This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.


  • Live Online


    On Demand

Date + Time

  • event

    Thursday, December 17, 2026

  • schedule

    1:00 PM ET/ 10:00 AM PT

I. Next-generation geothermal technologies and project development

A. EGS, closed-loop systems, and emerging storage applications

II. Resource ownership and subsurface rights

A. Geothermal resources, water, and subsurface access

III. Federal and state permitting and regulation

A. Leasing, drilling, injection, and environmental review

IV. Project risks and liability considerations

A. Seismicity, resource performance, and subsurface impacts

V. Commercialization, contracting, and financing

A. Project agreements, diligence, and risk allocation

The panel will review these and other key issues:

  • How EGS, closed-loop geothermal, and new geothermal storage technologies differ from conventional geothermal development
  • What property, mineral, water, and subsurface rights are required for these projects
  • How federal and state permitting and regulatory schemes apply
  • How counsel can address induced seismicity, fracture migration, water use, and other subsurface risks
  • How resource and regulatory risk affect geothermal project contracts