The Cool Down
Summary
Fervo Energy is expediting its underground heat extraction process, unlocking renewable geothermal power that could begin playing a greater role in electricity production in the United States.
The latest drilling breakthrough has been making headlines, including in Renewable Energy Magazine and The Salt Lake Tribune, for shaving 70% off the time needed to complete a borehole.
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. That would provide an air pollution reduction on par with removing 26 million cars from roads, all per the Energy Department.
Fervo's horizontal drilling technique, in part borrowed from the fossil industry, bores 8,000 feet deep before going 5,000 feet horizontally. Fracking opens up fissures in the hot rock, which water fills. It's heated and pumped back to the surface for use in a repeated process, per a Tribune explanation.
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