BLM Approves Major 2-GW Geothermal Project in Utah

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has given the go-ahead for a major geothermal energy project in Utah. The agency announced final approval for Fervo Energy’s Cape Geothermal Power Project in Beaver County, which the BLM said would use advanced geothermal technology to produce up to 2 GW of electricity. The BLM, part of the U.S. Dept. of the Interior, on October 17 also said it plans to speed up the permitting process for geothermal installations across the country. The agency in early October hosted a major lease sale for developers of geothermal projects. Enhanced geothermal relies on technology used for several years by the oil and gas industry. The process uses hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, to drill deep underground. The process for geothermal releases heat, as opposed to harvesting oil and natural gas. The U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) in February of this year had included Fervo and a Utah project, along with an installation in California, in its first round of selections for enhanced geothermal systems’ pilot demonstrations.

‘Untapped Clean Energy’

“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. “Today’s actions are part of the Department’s work to deliver on new opportunities, new technologies, and new solutions in geothermal energy that support the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to create jobs, economic growth, and clean carbon-free electricity for communities throughout the West.” The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) lists geothermal power plants in seven states. Two-thirds of geothermal power production comes from California, followed by Nevada (26.1%), Utah (3.2%), Hawaii (2.1%), Oregon (1.3%), Idaho (0.5%), and New Mexico (0.2%). Much of California’s output is from The Geysers, the world’s largest geothermal field, located in the Mayacamas Mountains north of San Francisco. The Geysers field covers 45 square miles between Lake, Mendocino, and Sonoma counties, providing power to to Sonoma, Mendocino, Lake, Marin, and Napa counties. Ali Zaidi, the White House national climate adviser, in an interview with the Washington Post on Thursday, said of the Utah project: “This is not your grandpa’s geothermal. Enhanced geothermal technology has the opportunity to deliver something in the range of 65 million homes’ worth of clean power—power that can be generated without putting any pollution in the sky. So we see it as a really meaningful contributor to our technology tool kit.” Zaidi said the U.S. today can generate about 4 GW of electricity from geothermal, meaning the Cape project at 2 GW (if fully developed) would represent about a 50% increase. Full development of the project would cover about 631 acres, including 148 acres on public lands. Fervo Energy has said the first 70-MW phase if the project could come online in 2026, with a second phase operational by 2028.

Geothermal on 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.” Tim Latimer, Fervo’s CEO and co-founder, is familiar with fracking technology, having previously worked as a drilling engineer. The company, founded in 2017, last year began operating its first project in northern Nevada with support from Alphabet, the parent of search engine giant Google. Fervo Energy in June of this year announced the execution of two 15-year power purchase agreements with Southern California Edison for 320 MW of output from the Cape Geothermal project. The first 70 MW phase of the project is expected to be operational by 2026 and the second phase will be operational by 2028. Supporters of geothermal have said the drilling technology used for enhanced geothermal is safer than that used for oil and gas exploration, because it targets specific areas underground, as opposed to drilling across wide areas. The Biden administration has said it supports geothermal because the technology provides energy without the emissions associated with coal- and natural gas-fired power plants. The BLM on Thursday said it wants to exempt some geothermal projects from longer environmental impact reviews as part of its push to ease the permitting process, something the agency supports for energy projects across the country. The BLM Nevada State Office on Oct. 8 held its largest geothermal lease sale since 2008. The agency auctioned about 218,000 acres of public lands to geothermal developers. The auction netted more than $7.8 million, a whopping increase over the 96,600 acres leased in last year's auction, which brought in just more than $1 million. Enhanced geothermal, as evidenced by Fervo’s Nevada operation for Alphabet, is touted as another way to supply baseload power for energy-intensive data centers. It would offer an alternative to nuclear power, including the small modular reactors that several tech companies are lining up to provide electricity for their data center complexes. The BLM on Thursday said the agency has now approved nearly 32 GW of clean energy projects on public lands, including 42 projects approved during the Biden-Harris administration. —Darrell Proctor is a senior editor for POWER (@POWERmagazine).