Presidio County of the Trans-Pecos region of Texas has substantial, undeveloped geothermal resources. We conduct a thorough, multiscale characterization of geothermal resources and assess comparative techno-economics for power generation and direct use facilities. We integrate surface geology, high-resolution gravity, borehole geophysical logs, and core data for subsurface characterization and carry out detailed techno-economics, considering enhanced geothermal systems and closed-loop geothermal systems technologies. Techno-economic analysis shows that the geothermal resource development in Presidio County could be economically viable for a wide range of project scenarios for power generation and direct use, with a project lifetime of 20 to 30 yr. However, the economic outlook of geothermal project developments in the study area are varied and range from poor to excellent, depending on the target location, reservoir depth, temperature, completion technologies, and local demand for use.

The Border region of the study area has the best-quality geothermal resources, with high geothermal gradient, proximity to the Rio Grande rift zone, and shallow Precambrian basement at places. The Interior region has a cooler geothermal gradient of ∼29°C/km. Not much information is available from the Big Bend region, regarding the deep geothermal potential. New higher-resolution geophysical surveys and drilling new wells can help improve our understanding of the local geology and available geothermal resources in the study area.