California: A significant advancement in clean electricity generation has been achieved, with a focus on geothermal energy.
On Tuesday, Southern California Edison announced it will support the largest new geothermal power project in the United States, producing 400 megawatts of clean electricity. That is enough to power approximately 400,000 homes.
Fervo Energy, a geothermal company based in Houston, will provide this electricity. The company is drilling up to 125 wells in southwest Utah to harness the Earth's heat for power generation.
This development represents a crucial step in reducing reliance on traditional, climate-damaging power plants.
Wilson Ricks, an energy systems researcher at Princeton University, noted that such projects could significantly lower the cost of new geothermal energy generation, greatly aiding global decarbonization efforts. Decarbonization involves replacing carbon dioxide and methane-producing technologies with cleaner alternatives.
Currently, the world predominantly depends on fossil fuels for consistent power supply. However, this new agreement demonstrates that clean power can meet the growing electricity demand, said Sarah Jewett, vice president of strategy at Fervo. She highlighted the scalability of geothermal energy as a significant advantage.
Traditional geothermal plants, such as The Geysers in California, utilized naturally occurring steam or hot water reservoirs close to the Earth's surface, which are relatively rare. New geothermal companies are now using advanced drilling techniques from the oil and gas industry to create reservoirs from hot rock, expanding the potential for geothermal energy.
Despite being a world leader in geothermal energy, the United States generates less than half a percent of its total large-scale electricity from this source, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
Fervo Energy is pioneering the use of horizontal drilling in geothermal reservoirs. In 2021, the company signed a groundbreaking agreement with Google to develop new geothermal power, resulting in three wells drilled in Nevada. This project began supplying carbon-free electricity to Nevada's grid in November, powering local data centers.
Cape Station, located about 200 miles south of Salt Lake City, is expected to start delivering electricity to California by 2026.
David Hochschild, Chair of the California Energy Commission, reaffirmed the state's commitment to clean, zero-carbon electricity. He emphasized that geothermal energy complements wind and solar power by providing a steady supply when other sources are intermittent, which is crucial for maintaining reliability as California moves away from fossil fuels.