A method to produce electricity cleanly to address climate change has been quietly advancing and reached a milestone on Tuesday.
A California utility is supporting the largest geothermal energy development in the United States – 400 megawatts of clean electricity from the Earth’s heat – enough for about 400,000 homes.
Southern California Edison will purchase the electricity from Fervo Energy, a Houston-based geothermal company, Fervo announced.
The company is drilling up to 125 wells in Beaver County in southwestern Utah.
Clean electricity like this reduces the need for traditional power plants that cause climate change. The boost could go a long way toward lowering the cost of new geothermal power generation, said Wilson Ricks, an energy systems researcher at Princeton University.
“If these purchases help this technology take off, it could have a huge impact for global decarbonization,” he said. Decarbonization refers to changing the things that produce carbon dioxide and methane, which cause climate change, in favor of machines and methods that do not.
Today, the world still relies primarily on fossil fuels for 24-hour energy. This new agreement demonstrates that clean energy can meet growing demand for electricity, said Sarah Jewett, vice president of strategy at Fervo.
“I think that’s why it’s so exciting. “This is not a niche energy resource intended for niche use,” she said. “And that’s something that we haven’t had, you know, available” and not be able to expand.
The first generation of geothermal plants, for example The Geysers in California, tapped reserves of superheated steam or very hot water near the Earth’s surface. These reservoirs are relatively rare.
New geothermal companies are adapting technologies and drilling practices borrowed from the oil and gas industry to create reservoirs from hot rock. That unlocks the potential of geothermal energy in many more places. Engineers have been working to improve methods for years.
The United States is one of the world leaders in using the Earth’s heat to produce electricity, but geothermal energy still accounts for less than half a percent of the country’s total large-scale electricity generation. according to the US Energy Information Administration..
Fervo is a pioneer in horizontal drilling in geothermal deposits. He signed the world’s first corporate deal with Google in 2021 to develop new geothermal energy and drilled three wells in Nevada. That project began sending carbon-free electricity to Nevada’s grid in November to power data centers there.
Cape Station, about 200 miles south of Salt Lake City, is expected to begin supplying electricity to California starting in 2026.
California Energy Commission Chairman David Hochschild said the state is committed to clean, carbon-free electricity. He said geothermal complements wind and solar farms by providing constant power when it’s not windy or sunny, and that’s key to ensuring reliability as the state reduces fossil fuels.
This story was written by Jennifer McDermott of the KeynoteUSA.
Keynote USA
For the Latest Local News, Follow Keynote USA Local on Twitter.