Life-cycle emissions accounting is useful if we're considering technology options or feasibility assessment for a specific project. But the linked article isn't

Life-cycle emissions accounting is useful if we're considering technology options or feasibility assessment for a specific project. But the linked article isn't talking about any specific project. It's talking about whether geothermal is a good tech in general. In that context the lifecycle emissions stats are less useful because the calculation assumes a rate of indirect emissions (due to construction, mining, refinement, containment, etc.) based on the incumbent power generation tech. In other words, if geothermal power was more ubiquitous, then the indirect emissions for a new geothermal project would be lower.