The Railroad Commission of Texas has issued its second permit for a deep geopressured geothermal well dedicated to energy storage, approving a well in Galveston County for Quidnet Energy Deployment LLC, the agency announced in a July 30 news release.
The permit marks a milestone for a growing corner of the Texas energy industry. While best known as the state’s oil and gas regulator, the RRC also carries statutory responsibility for the geothermal sector, and the agency said the overlap in technology and expertise with oil and gas gives geothermal developers the benefit of an established regulatory framework and experienced technical staff.
The commission issued its first deep geopressured geothermal permit in February 2025 to Sage Geosystems for a project in Atascosa County that will provide energy storage for the San Miguel Electric Cooperative and its customers, according to the release. The agency said the second permit highlights the continued growth of geothermal development in Texas and the RRC’s role in supporting the safe advancement of emerging technologies.
“Since assuming jurisdiction over geothermal well regulations from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in September 2023, the RRC has remained committed to taking a deliberate permitting approach that supports the responsible growth of this new technology,” said RRC Executive Director Wei Wang. “This work in geothermal energy is yet another example of how the RRC’s expertise in responsible subsurface regulation helps keep Texas at the forefront of energy development.”
Growth has been even faster among shallow closed-loop geothermal wells, which use the earth as a heat sink to heat or cool buildings. The commission reported that roughly 1,400 shallow geothermal wells were completed in each of fiscal years 2024 and 2025, while 3,162 wells have been drilled and completed at 39 sites across Texas in the current fiscal year alone. Local school districts are increasingly adopting the technology for their heating and cooling needs, the agency noted.
The RRC attributed part of that expansion to a new shallow geothermal rule that clarified regulatory roles without increasing permitting fees or staffing requirements, creating what the agency described as a clear, efficient pathway for continued development. With two deep energy-storage permits now on the books and thousands of shallow wells coming online, the commission said the sector’s trajectory points toward a larger role for geothermal energy in the state’s power landscape.