Unlike conventional geothermal plants limited to volcanic and tectonic-plate-boundary regions with readily-accessible below-ground heat, EGS requires drilling three to eight kilometers or nearly two to five miles deep, injecting fluid to crack rocks, then pumping the heated fluid back up to generate electricity.

Sounds like the differentiator is easier deeper drilling, cool.

The Stanford study compared scenarios with and without EGS and found that adding EGS to the renewable energy mix produces substantial infrastructure savings. When EGS provided just 10% of electricity supply, onshore wind capacity needs dropped 15%, solar capacity fell 12%, and battery storage requirements decreased 28%.

The big reduction in battery needs seems quite significant, since variability is an oft cited drawback of renewables.