The new US geothermal energy project will cover 255 hectares and produce electricity to supply more than two million households.
The U.S. Department of the Interior announced important developments in expanding geothermal energy on public lands. This abundant source of clean energy has great potential to help the US achieve its goal of zero polluting emissions by 2035. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has approved the Fervo Cape Geothermal Power Project in Beaver County, Utah. This project will use advanced technology to produce 2 gigawatts (GW) of electricity, enough to supply more than two million households.
The Fervo Cape geothermal power project produces energy by pumping water into rock near the ground. The system then splits the heated water to produce electricity, instead of relying on natural hot water underground like traditional geothermal systems. If fully developed, the project will span 255 hectares, including 60 hectares of public land. The project includes the development of approximately 23 sites to drill and complete water injection wells, access roads, and an electrical distribution network with secondary transmission lines. The project also features an electrical inlet station, geothermal fluid collection pipeline system and multiple ancillary facilities.
The Fervo Cape project is an enhanced geothermal (ESG) system. Natural geothermal systems, also known as hydrothermal, require three elements to produce electricity: heat, fluid and permeability, which allows fluid to move freely through underground rock. While underground rock is hot in many areas, natural water or liquid permeability is more necessary.
In those cases, EGS can create artificial lakes to harness that heat. In EGS, fluid is injected deep underground under carefully controlled conditions to create new fractures and cause pre-existing fractures to rupture, increasing water permeability. Thanks to that, the liquid can circulate through the hot rock and heat up. The operator pumps hot water to the ground, producing electricity for the grid.
EGS can promote geothermal power development throughout the United States in particular and around the world in general. Geothermal energy helps produce electricity with minimal emissions. It can also heat buildings, operate greenhouses and support hydroponics operations. Currently, 51 geothermal power plants are operating on public lands managed by the BLM.