The United States has given the green light to the world’s largest geothermal power plant. At full capacity, it will have a power of 2 gigawatts, capable of supplying energy to 2 million homes 24 hours a day.
The key is in its technology. The project is called Cape Geothermal Power Project and will be completed in 2035 in the arid and mountainous Beaver County, Utah. Its main promoter is the engineering company Fervo Energy.
Fervo has developed a system that produces geothermal energy by injecting water into hot underground rock formations and then extracting steam from that same water, rather than relying on groundwater that is already naturally hot, as is the case in traditional geothermal systems.
Inspired by fracking, Fervo Energy’s Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) inject water into underground layers of hot rock, creating fractures that allow liquid circulation and steam generation. The extracted steam is used to turn turbines that generate electricity.
About twenty wells. Cape Geothermal Power will cover an area of 255 hectares, 60 of which are public lands leased by the United States Bureau of Land Management (BLM). It is the largest auction of geothermal leases in more than 15 years.
The project will develop around 20 platforms to drill and complete observation, production and injection wells at what will be the world’s largest geothermal power plant.
Geothermal energy steps on the accelerator. Geothermal is a constant, clean source of energy that is practically untapped, compared to other renewables such as wind and solar.
This project is a firm step to stop underusing unlimited subsoil heat, which has the potential to accelerate the decarbonization of the electricity sector and climate goals.
As geothermal energy accelerates, companies like Google are investing in it to power their data centers with a constant, reliable supply of clean energy. Something in which solar and wind will not be able to compete as long as there are not enough batteries.
Imagen | Fervo Energy
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