Fervo Energy is accelerating its underground heat extraction process, unlocking renewable geothermal power that could play a greater role in electricity production in the United States. The latest drilling breakthrough has been making headlines for shaving 70% off the time needed to complete a borehole. Geothermal accounts for just under a half of a percent of total utility-scale power generation in the United States, but the latest news could help to greatly increase that statistic. In fact, subterranean heat is already powering Google data centers.
To access the heat, experts must drill into Earth’s crust, using insight learned from the dirty-energy fracking process. Fervo’s Utah Cape Station project, for example, bore into solid granite in 21 days, completing the hole in an astounding 21 days. The goal is to start pumping out 90 megawatts of continuous power by 2026 and expand to a larger, 400-megawatt installation by 2028.
Geothermal heat leverages extremely hot temperatures deep underground, either accessing hot water already there or heating water that’s sent downward. There are different setups, all leveraging Earth’s temperatures to make cleaner, abundant energy. These are deeper projects than home-based systems, which are great options to help homeowners lower their energy bills for heating and cooling. Substantial tax breaks are available to cover up to 30% of the cost, depending on the timing.
The government has high hopes for the tech, citing studies that state there’s potential for 60-90 gigawatts of electricity-generating capacity, more than 17,000 district heating systems, and up to 28 million geothermal heat pumps by 2050. Other projects are digging even deeper, such as Quaise Energy’s plan to drill 12 miles into Earth to access super-hot temperatures and power turbines at defunct dirty-energy plants.
