Google has a new way to power its data centers. According to a blog post from Google, a "first-of-its-kind" geothermal project in Arizona that uses modern oil and gas industry drilling techniques to optimize geothermal power generation is operational, as of today. Google says this "enhanced geothermal energy" is capable of producing round-the-clock clean energy cheaper than any other currently available method.
Power is a big expense for most tech companies, and is an increasingly precious resource in general. So it tracks that companies are pursuing ambitious clean energy and renewable energy targets. Until now, geothermal energy production has been geographically limited because it relied on the Earth's heat sources being concentrated and very near the surface. But Google has been working closely for the last two years with a company called Fervo, and the pair have managed to set up a power plant that will fulfill data centers with clean energy 24/7.
Fervo’s technology makes many more underground heat sources viable for energy production purposes. Google says the main difference is that Fervo has been using the latest horizontal drilling technologies from the oil and gas industries to efficiently tap into geothermal sources.
In the case of this successful Nevada project, Fervo drilled pilot wells 8,000 feet deep before turning to horizontal drilling techniques. It then ran fiber optic cables down the wells to gather and analyze data concerning the flow and temperature profile of the local geothermal resource. It implemented a well design to maximize the use of the best heat resources identified and to optimize the flow of the heat reservoir system for heat mining efficiency. You can read more about Fervo and its technologies on its website, or watch the following video:
The US Department of Energy predicts that geothermal energy could provide up to 120 gigawatts of reliable generation capacity in the US by 2050. This means it could account for 16% of the nation’s energy demands by that time. Perhaps with the Google and Fervo Arizona project success, those figures might be worth revising. If it isn’t already clear, these ‘24/7’ geothermal power plants have an inherent advantage over renewable like wind, sea, solar, and hydroelectric energy, which aren’t as dependable or consistent.
The collaboration with Fervo isn’t the first of Google’s geothermal projects to be announced. Back in September, it made public a partnership with the non-profit organization Project InnerSpace, which seeks to popularize geothermal energy production worldwide.
Google hopes that projects like this geothermal power plant in Arizona will help it progress toward its goal of operating all its data centers and office campuses on 24/7 carbon-free energy (CFE) by 2030. Ultimately, technology like this could also help decarbonize the world's electricity production.
