Going deep on next-gen geothermal

Catalyst with Shayle Kann

Investment is on the rise in geothermal, where advances in drilling techniques are driving down the cost of generation right as the grid needs more clean, firm, dispatchable power to meet rising load growth. And enhanced-geothermal startup Fervo is leading the pack of entrants, signing agreements to provide power to Southern California Edison and Google.

So how ready are these next-generation geothermal technologies to scale?

In this episode, Shayle talks to Dr. Roland Horne, professor of earth sciences at Stanford, where he leads the university’s geothermal program. Shayle and Roland cover topics like:

• Geothermal’s historical challenges of limited geography and high up-front costs
• Three pathways of next-generation geothermal: enhanced, closed-loop, and super-deep (also known as super-critical)
• Knowledge transfer from the oil and gas industry
• Advances in drilling technology that cut across multiple pathways

Recommended resources

U.S. Department of Energy: Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Next-Generation Geothermal Power

Latitude Media: Fervo eyes project-level finance as it plans for geothermal at scale

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