{"id":1368617,"date":"2023-12-03T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-03T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grist.org\/?p=624248"},"modified":"2023-12-03T14:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-12-03T14:00:00","slug":"americas-first-enhanced-geothermal-plant-just-got-up-and-running","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2023\/12\/03\/americas-first-enhanced-geothermal-plant-just-got-up-and-running\/","title":{"rendered":"America\u2019s first\u00a0\u200b\u2018enhanced\u2019 geothermal plant just got up and running"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
This story was originally published by Canary Media<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n A next-generation geothermal plant backed by Google has started sending carbon-free electricity to the grid in Nevada, where the tech company operates some of its massive data centers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Tuesday, Google and geothermal developer Fervo Energy<\/a> said that electrons began flowing from the first-of-a-kind facility earlier this month. The 3.5-megawatt project, called Project Red, is now supplying power directly to the Las Vegas\u2013based utility NV Energy<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The announcement comes more than two years after Google and Fervo signed a corporate agreement<\/a> to develop the \u200b\u201cenhanced geothermal\u201d plant. Unlike conventional geothermal plants, which tap into heat found close to the earth\u2019s surface, Houston-based Fervo uses advanced drilling techniques to access resources that are deeper or trickier to reach than hot springs or geysers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The pilot project\u2019s completion is a meaningful step in the growing global effort to harness the earth\u2019s heat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the United States, geothermal energy supplies only about 3,700 megawatts (3.7 gigawatts) of electricity, or 0.4 percent<\/a> of total U.S. electricity generation last year. But according to the U.S. Department of Energy, geothermal could provide potentially 90 gigawatts<\/a> of firm and flexible power to America\u2019s grid by 2050 \u2014 assuming that enhanced systems like Fervo\u2019s catch on as a widespread renewable energy option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fervo\u2019s project has a\u00a0relatively small capacity: enough to power roughly\u00a02,600\u00a0U.S. homes at once. Still, that\u2019s more electricity than any of the world\u2019s\u00a040-some enhanced geothermal systems have previously achieved, according to the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n