Jennifer McDermott of AP News reports that geothermal electricity is powering a Google data center in Nevada.
- Fervo Energy’s geothermal project near Winnemucca, Nevada is delivering 3.5 megawatts of electricity to the grid to power Google data centers in the state.
- Fervo has developed an innovative advanced drilling technique that allows the company to access geothermal energy in regions that have not historically been geothermal hotbeds.
- In addition to this rig in Nevada, Fervo has also begun drilling in southwest Utah for a 400 megawatt project.
“Fervo pumps cold water down an injection well, then over hot rock underground to another well, the production well. The path between is created by fracking, or fracturing the rock. The water heats up to nearly 400 degrees Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius) before returning to the surface. Once there, it transfers its heat to another liquid with a low boiling point, creating steam. The pressure of steam expanding spins a turbine to produce electricity like in a coal or natural gas-fired plant. The geothermal water, now cooled, is put back down the injection well to start the cycle again, in a closed-loop system.”
Read the full article here.
The views and opinions expressed are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of C3.
