The US Department of the Interior has announced major advancements in expanding geothermal energy on public lands.
This abundant clean energy resource has great potential to help the country achieve its goal of a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035.
The Department announced that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has approved the Fervo Cape Geothermal Power Project in Beaver County, Utah. This project will use innovative technology to generate up to 2 gigawatts (GW) of baseload power, enough to supply over 2 million homes.
World’s largest plant
The Fervo Cape Geothermal Power Project generates energy by injecting water into hot subsurface rock formations.
It then extracts the heated water to produce electricity, rather than relying on naturally occurring underground hot water like traditional geothermal systems.
If fully developed, the project will cover approximately 631 acres, including 148 acres on public lands, and produce up to 2 gigawatts of clean energy.
The project involves developing approximately 23 well pads for drilling and completing observation, production, and injection wells.
It will also include constructing up to 20 geothermal power plants, associated access roads, and a power distribution network comprising sub-transmission lines.
Additionally, the project will have an electrical switchyard, a general tie-in transmission line, a geothermal fluid pipeline gathering system, and ancillary facilities such as buildings and necessary tie-in upgrades.
Enhanced geothermal system
The Fervo Cape Power Project is an enhanced geothermal system (ESG).
A naturally occurring geothermal system, known as hydrothermal, requires three key elements to generate electricity: heat, fluid, and permeability , which is when fluid can move freely through the underground rock.
Although underground rock is hot in many areas, more natural permeability or fluids are needed.
In those cases, an EGS can create a human-made reservoir to tap that heat for energy.
In an EGS, fluid is injected deep underground under carefully controlled conditions to create new fractures and cause pre-existing fractures to re-open, creating permeability.
Increased permeability allows fluid to circulate throughout the more fractured hot rock, which becomes hot as it circulates.
Operators pump the hot water to the surface, generating electricity for the grid.
EGS could facilitate geothermal development beyond traditional hydrothermal regions, extending geothermal energy production nationwide.
EGS advances are being demonstrated worldwide in both the public and private sectors.
US commitment to clean energy
With this approval, the BLM has approved nearly 32 gigawatts of clean energy projects on public lands.
The BLM also proposes a new categorical exclusion to facilitate the confirmation of geothermal energy resources on public lands. These actions come as the BLM hosted the biggest geothermal lease sale in over 15 years.
“Geothermal energy is one of our greatest untapped clean energy resources on public lands,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management Dr. Steve Feldgus.
Replenished by heat sources deep in the Earth, geothermal energy generates electricity with minimal carbon emissions.
It can also heat buildings, operate greenhouses, and support aquaculture operations.
Today, 51 operating power plants produce geothermal energy from BLM-managed public lands.
“The BLM is committed to supporting the responsible growth of geothermal energy on public lands,” said BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning.
“We need all the tools in the toolbox to reach a clean energy future, and this proposed categorical exclusion will be helpful in accelerating the process of locating new geothermal resources.”
Today’s announcements follow the BLM Nevada State Office’s lease sale on October 8, bringing near-record revenues. This was the most successful sale since 2008 and the second-most ever.
The BLM sold 64 parcels covering nearly 218,000 acres, bringing in over $7.8 million in high bids. This marks a sharp increase from the previous year’s sale of 96,600 acres for just over $1 million, demonstrating the growing interest in geothermal development on public lands.
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