Geothermal energy has historically tapped into natural volcanic reservoirs of heat. Such places are a source of continuous energy that can be used to generate electricity or provide heat. The problem is that these places are few and far between.
Next-generation geothermal energy accesses much more widespread heat in the earth by using advanced drilling and engineering techniques to tap deep subsurface reservoirs.
The startup company Fervo Energy has recently started selling power to the grid from its Cape Station project in Utah. This is the first time anywhere in the world that a utility-scale, next-generation geothermal facility has been tied to the grid.
The initial 33-megawatt unit came online in the middle of September. The power generated is being sold to Shell Energy, a retail power provider in California.
Cape Station is a $2 billion project that will eventually produce 500 megawatts. The Fervo system is unique in that it has created its own geothermal resource deep underground. Fervo makes use of drilling techniques from the oil and gas industry to create reservoirs in hot, dry rocks that generate steam to produce electricity.
Now that the first unit is online, two more 33-megawatt units are planned to be operational by January.
Next-generation geothermal entails high upfront drilling costs and other economic and regulatory barriers. But it is an approach for delivering power to utilities when it is most valuable to them, such as in the evening when solar output declines.
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In global first, a next-gen geothermal plant goes live at utility scale
