Electrical Power & Protection


Unlocking next-generation geothermal power

September 2023 Electrical Power & Protection

Startup Fervo Energy just made hot-rock history. The company says it is the first to demonstrate that an enhanced geothermal system can reliably produce electricity. Fervo’s full-scale commercial pilot, Project Red in northern Nevada, passed its production test phase, a 30-day well test standard for geothermal energy resources. The company reported that its system achieved a flow rate of 63 litres per second at high temperatures, conditions that would generate 3,5 megawatts of electricity − enough energy to power roughly 2500 homes. According to the company, these results set a record for flow and power output for an enhanced geothermal system. Unlike conventional geothermal resources, enhanced geothermal technologies create new fissures to coax energy out of hot rocks.

“The takeaway is that next-generation geothermal power is here today,” said Gabe Malek, Fervo’s chief of staff. “It’s ready to deploy, it’s ready to scale. It’s now a question of how fast we can do it, and at what magnitude.”

The milestone marks an inflection point for geothermal as a clean energy resource. It proves the technical feasibility of an enhanced geothermal system, unlocking the viability of a new clean energy resource. The next step to unlock enhanced geothermal’s full potential is to drive down the cost of the technology through more deployments. One key to that effort will be more offtakers signing power purchase agreements (PPAs), a model that has been crucial for scaling solar and wind energy.

The promise of enhanced geothermal

Enhanced geothermal systems have long been a clean energy dream. Traditional geothermal taps into naturally occurring fissures underground, heating water that runs a turbine. Enhanced geothermal systems are designed to create fissures in underground rock, allowing geothermal wells in more locations.

Making geothermal wells suited for more places means its energy potential is much greater than conventional geothermal. According to the National Renewable Energy Lab, the resource potential of enhanced geothermal is more than 230 gigawatts in the United States, when drilling to 4000 metres or less − the depth oil and gas drills can access with existing equipment.

What’s more, geothermal is not weather-dependent. That means it has the potential to provide clean, firm energy that can complement wind, solar and batteries to fully decarbonise electricity − a critical part of addressing climate change. The ability to fully operate from clean energy, sometimes known as 24/7 carbon free energy (CFE), is increasingly a goal of the public and private sectors. In fact, Google’s own quest to reach 24/7 CFE inspired the tech giant to partner with Fervo in Project Red.

Recognising its massive decarbonisation and economic promise, the US Department of Energy issued an enhanced geothermal earthshot initiative last year, releasing funds dedicated to driving down the cost of enhanced geothermal technologies by 90% by 2035.

The geothermal learning curve

Key to unlocking the potential of enhanced geothermal − and crucial for Fervo’s milestone − are hydraulic fracturing (fracking) technologies developed by the oil and gas industry to extract natural gas. Fervo uses the same technology to drill lateral wells and then drill horizontally in geothermal reservoirs to access more heat resources.

Fervo’s breakthrough is a design that drills multiple horizontal wells from a single location. The trick is that every horizontal well is more or less the same, meaning Fervo can take that one technique and copy and paste over and over again, standardising the process and opening up more hot rock resources for each set of lateral wells. This approach can make geothermal simple and repeatable, according to Fervo. Instead of each new project requiring a unique, individual design, each new deployment can become more efficient. That will help drive down the cost of deployments, the company said.

“One thing that’s plagued geothermal traditionally is that each project is bespoke to a certain degree,” Malek said. “Since we’re able to drill pairs and pairs and pairs of horizontal wells, we no longer have to think about this process as bespoke. It can become repeatable, almost like the manufacturing process for geothermal. And we know that with those economies of scale, costs go down.”

According to Fervo, demand for its technology has been high. “We can reach offtakers that are more risk averse than your Googles,” Malek said. “Certainly there are improvements that we will continue to make, but they are no longer taking a gamble on the core underlying technology that we’re trying to sell here.”




Share this article:
Share via emailShare via LinkedInPrint this page

Further reading:

The climate change reality in South Africa: An engineer’s call to action
Electrical Power & Protection
This year’s World Engineering Day on 4 March was a powerful reminder of the critical role engineers play in driving progress toward the sustainable development goals.

Read more...
Empowering Africa’s renewable energy future
Electrical Power & Protection
As a global leader in renewable energy technology, SUNGROW has pioneered sustainable power solutions for over 28 years. At the recent Africa Energy Indaba 2025, SUNGROW showcased its advanced energy solutions designed to meet the diverse needs of the African continent.

Read more...
The role of electromechanical solutions in supporting Africa’s industrial growth
Electrical Power & Protection
Africa’s industries are transforming rapidly. Fuelled by a huge demand for energy connectivity, better infrastructure, increased manufacturing and responsible resource management, electromechanical solutions are key to shaping this growth, allowing industries to scale up their operations efficiently and sustainably.

Read more...
Empowering South Africa’s IPPs for a renewable future
Electrical Power & Protection
Many crucial parts of the economy of the future will be hugely energy intensive, foremost amongst which will be electrified transport and the large data processing required by automation and AI. Successful economies will be those that can ensure businesses and investors have access to a stable supply of low-cost renewable energy. South Africa has the opportunity to become a global leader in this regard.

Read more...
Sustainable mining operations escalate as demand for critical materials to double
Electrical Power & Protection
The mining sector is at the forefront of the energy transition due to its role in extracting essential materials and minerals necessary for green technologies. As demand for renewable energy, electric vehicles and other sustainable technologies increases exponentially, so will the demand for these necessary materials.

Read more...
Monitoring partial discharge on medium voltage switchgear
Schneider Electric South Africa Electrical Power & Protection
Schneider Electric South Africa has launched its EcoStruxure Service Plan (ESP) in the Anglophone African region for medium voltage (MV) switchgear

Read more...
Raptor switches
Phoenix Contact Electrical Power & Protection
The Phoenix Contact Raptor switches enable reliable and safe operation in extreme ambient conditions. The managed switch portfolio meets the stringent requirements of IEC 61850-3 and IEEE 1613 standards and is ideal for critical infrastructure and power supply applications.

Read more...
Electrical safety warning indicators
Electrical Power & Protection
Remlive electrical safety warning indicators have been keeping the workplace safe for more than 25 years.

Read more...
Self-contained standalone lightning warning system
Senseca Electrical Power & Protection
The BTD-200 lightning warning system from Biral (UK) is a complete detection and warning system. Its highly specialised aviation grade lightning detection technology delivers the warning as soon as lightning is detected and before the first strike.

Read more...
Half brick second generation converter
Vepac Electronics Electrical Power & Protection
The Supreme series half brick second generation converter from Vepac is composed of isolated, board-mountable, fixed switching frequency DC-DC converters that use synchronous rectification to achieve extremely high power conversion efficiency.

Read more...