Going Electric? Why Future Power Could Come From Hot Rocks

Bold Names

The Wall Street Journal

Technology

4.4 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 13 October 2023

⏱️ 25 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Want to go electric? We might need to dig a little deeper… into the Earth’s crust. Researchers and startups are testing new technology and drilling techniques to harness geothermal energy – heat from the Earth that can be used to generate electricity. It’s a renewable energy source that has been billed as a way to boost energy independence while reducing carbon emissions. But because of technical limitations, geothermal made up just 0.4% of all electricity generated in the U.S last year. The Biden Administration and energy giants such as Chevron are investing in geothermal, with the aim that your lights, your cell phone and your electric car might be powered by geothermal in the future. WSJ’s Alex Ossola explores what it will take for geothermal energy to scale. What do you think about the show? Let us know on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or email us: [email protected] Further reading: Can the Oil-and-Gas Industry Crack Geothermal Energy? ‘Deep Geothermal’ Promises to Let Drillers Go Deeper, Faster and Hotter The Next Bets for Renewable Energy Fracking for Geothermal Energy? Not So Fast The Race to Drill America’s Longest Oil and Gas Wells Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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0:32.7	If you think of the state of Nevada, you might think Las Vegas,
0:36.8	Sin City, but 500 miles from Vegas in the northwest corner of the state,
0:41.6	it's not so much casinos and neon lights, but more mountains and wide open desert.
0:48.3	And while in Vegas, you might be looking for a hot hand in poker,
0:51.5	here they specialize in hot rocks.
0:54.8	The reason we chose Nevada was really because of its unique geology.
1:00.5	That's Sarah Jewett, the VP of Strategy for Furvo Energy, a startup that's working on geothermal power.
1:07.7	It was those hot rocks underfoot that brought Furvo to Nevada to do an experiment,
1:12.4	trying a new technique for generating geothermal electricity. Furvo called it project red.
1:18.4	I think project red was really an opportunity for us to show
1:23.4	that all of the science and all of the math that we put into this process,
1:27.8	which really had never been used in geothermal energy before,
1:31.9	was really applicable for geothermal development.
	...

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