The study was requested by Rep. Joe Webster (D-Montgomery) in House Resolution 185 of 2023.
Introduction
The report notes Pennsylvania’s energy needs are increasing largely due to the expansion of A.I. data centers.
The Commonwealth will need to add an estimated 38 gigawatts of new electricity generation capacity to the existing 40 gigawatts of generation by 2030 to keep up with this potential demand.
Accordingly, the Commonwealth must strategically pursue new energy sources, while investing in energy-saving technologies.
Data shows that the underground heat available could provide more than a thousand times the energy that Pennsylvanians consume every year.
Or to state it differently, if the existing resources and workforce of the current energy industry in Pennsylvania drilled for geothermal at the same rate that they drill for oil and gas, they could produce enough geothermal energy to meet all thermal demands for commercial heating and low-temperature industrial processes.
It is also estimated that there are approximately 700 GWs of thermal resources within 13,000 feet of the surface in the state that is available for cooling solutions.
Project Interspace Report
In the past year, one of the largest changes in Pennsylvania’s geothermal landscape was not the advent of new technologies, but of growing industry advocacy and stakeholder recognition of geothermal energy’s value to the Commonwealth.
The Future of Geothermal Energy in Pennsylvania: Leveraging the Commonwealth’s Legacy of Energy Leadership report by Penn State University and the federally funded Project Innerspace explores this topic in detail and highlights a possible future where the Commonwealth leverages EGS [engineered geothermal systems] to meet its energy needs.
Abandoned Mine Pools
Underground coal mining dates back to the mid-1700s in Pennsylvania and the thousands of mines left behind by the industry have collapsed or the cavities remaining after the coal was extracted willed with water.
Extensive underground mining has resulted in many square miles of interconnected mine workings in Northeast and Southwest Pennsylvania.
Both closed-loop and open loop geothermal systems using abandoned mine pools have been operated in Pennsylvania, some dating back to the 1960s when a 137,000 square foot Consolidated Cigar Warehouse in Luzerne County was cooled using a stainless-steel pump connected to mine water.
Examples and case studies of these systems are included in the report.
For over a decade, the Eastern Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation (EPCAMR), a nonprofit environmental organization, has worked to create 3D models of mine pools within the state and estimate their volume on behalf of the Susquehanna River Basin Commission.
This modeling has uncovered great volumes of water contained within abandoned mines in the anthracite coal mining region.
Increasing public awareness and determining appropriate site selection are two of the largest obstacles to raising the prominence of mine water geothermal within Pennsylvania.
JSGC staff reviewed data from the DEP sites with AML points discharging mine water and used mapping software to draw the distances between these waters and available existing infrastructure locations.
The analysis identified 382 potential sites for mine pool geothermal development in 25 counties.
The counties with the most potential were Allegheny (107), Cambria (35), Luzerne (31), Fayette (29), Lackawanna (25), Westmoreland (24), Clearfield (19), Schuylkill (19) and Somerset (14).
Commission staff consulted with the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Bureau of Geological Survey to estimate the amount of work necessary for conducting a statewide analysis of mine pools for suitable geothermal use.
The report includes some best practices for mine water energy development.
Oil & Gas Wells
The report highlights reduced air pollution, lower emissions, and decreased pressure on land use and wildlife habitats as positive environmental outcomes that would likely arise from the use of geothermal energy.
Additionally, the report states that repurposed abandoned oil and gas wells would allow for the improvement or upcycling of sites that have already been disturbed within the Commonwealth.
The possible range of health effects for implementing EGS are unknown at this time, however no instances of ground water contamination from EGS have been documented.
Safe and responsible development, monitoring, and regulation of geothermal technologies may lead to improved public health more broadly, as compared to shale gas development.
A.I. Data Center Cooling
Data centers require enormous amounts of power and water to function.
The cooling of data center infrastructure is a significant part of this demand, accounting for up to 40 percent of total energy consumption and 50 percent of CO2 emissions.
The use of geothermal cooling technologies to cool data centers has great potential to support the future growth of data centers.
Research indicates that geothermal cooling systems can create up to 30 or 40 percent reductions in energy consumption for data centers.
Another aspect of the efficiency of geothermal cooling is reduced water consumption.
Research suggests that geothermal cooling, specifically when implemented as a closed-loop system, can decrease a data center’s water consumption.
Geothermal cooling can also create significant cost savings for data centers; recent studies suggest annual cost savings of up to $1 million for a standard data center.
Compared with a traditional HVAC system, geothermal cooling reduces energy costs by up to 30 percent. Efficiency certainly helps with cost savings.
Finally, geothermal cooling is environmentally friendly, enabling data centers to reduce their carbon footprint. CO2 [carbon dioxide] emissions can decrease by up to 50 percent when geothermal cooling systems are included.
One center that is already using geothermal cooling technology is the Iron Mountain Data Centers in Boyers, Butler County.
The geothermal cooling system is located 200 feet underground in a former limestone mine, with a 35-acre water reservoir that maintains constant temperatures and water levels year round.
The data center was built near this part of the mine to take advantage of constant low ambient temperatures and the close proximity of the lake for geothermal cooling purposes.
Findings & Recommendations
Among the findings and recommendations in the report (page 137) are--
-- It is possible that all of Pennsylvania’s electric needs could eventually be met by geothermal power production.
-- Mine water-based heating and cooling systems have been used in Pennsylvania since the mid-20th century. These systems employ heat pumps to extract heat from ambient temperatures of underground water in flooded mines as a source and heat sink.
-- Because of their simplicity, mine water systems are frequently less expensive to construct and have greater efficiencies than closed loop geothermal. They can be scaled to community wide use.
-- Using geothermal cooling technologies in data centers can reduce their energy consumption by up to 30 to 40 percent, reduce CO2 emissions by up to 50 percent, and provide annual cost savings of up to $1 million for a standard data center.
Click Here for a copy of the report.
Resource Links:
-- House Members To Introduce Bipartisan Legislation To Advance Geothermal Energy Development [PaEN]
-- Guest Essay: Geothermal Might Have The Answer For Pennsylvania's Clean Energy Needs - By John Walliser, PA Environmental Council [PaEN]
-- Berkeley Lab: Repurposing Coal Assets For A Decarbonized Digital Economy
-- DataCenterDynamics.com: Virginia Project Gets $3 Million To Cool Data Centers With Mine Water
-- West Virginia University: Geothermal Energy On Abandoned Mine Lands
-- Wise County, Virginia: Geothermal Cooling & Site Availability
-- Invest In SW Virginia: Project Oasis - Geothermal Cooling From Underground Mines
Related Articles This Week:
-- Coalition Of Community Groups, Philadelphia Gas Works Reach Proposed Rate Settlement Containing Wins For Affordability, Clean Energy [PaEN]
-- PUC Hosting 6 Regional Be Utility Wise And Be Wise Consumer Education Conferences Starting Sept. 18 [PaEN]
NewsClips:
-- York Daily Record: New $500 Million A.I. Data Center Proposed For Fairview Twp., York County [PDF of Article]
-- York Dispatch: Florida Developers Approach Windsor Twp. Officials With A.I. Data Center Project In York County; Same Company Approached Fairview Twp. Officials [PDF of Article]
-- DataCenterDynamics.com: Energy Capital Partners Announce Plans For $5 Billion A.I. Data Center At Calpine’s York 2 Gas Power Plant In Peach Bottom Twp., York County
-- Scranton Times: A.I. Data Center Developer Also Building Warehouse By Lackawanna Energy Center
-- LancasterOnline Letter: Where’s The Outrage About The Planned Reopening Of The Undamaged Nuclear Reactor On Three Mile Island? - By Patricia Longenecker, TMI Neighbor
-- MCall Guest Essay: Transforming Pennsylvania’s Energy Future By Reforming Act 129 Energy Conservation Program - By Brian Jenkins, Building Decarbonization Coalition [PDF of Article]
-- PA Capital-Star: PA, 18 State Sue US DOE Over New Funding Caps On Sustainable Energy Projects
-- Reuters: USDA Ends Programs For Solar, Wind Projects On Farms
-- Utility Dive: Clean Energy Groups Challenge US DOE Electric Grid Reliability Report
[Posted: August 19, 2025] PA Environment Digest
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