♨️ Geothermal power around the clock: Hot well in Utah shows the technology can scale up

• Fervo Energy has drilled its hottest well yet at a new geothermal site in Utah, with measured temperatures exceeding 555°F at approximately 11,200 feet deep.
• An independent assessment shows the site has multi-gigawatt energy potential.
• Fervo pumps cold water underground, where it is heated by the Earth's natural heat. The water is then brought back to the surface.

Heat from the Earth's interior becomes electricity

Geothermal energy means extracting heat from the Earth's interior and converting it into electricity. Unlike solar and wind power, it can deliver electricity around the clock, regardless of weather. Fervo Energy is one of the companies developing next-generation geothermal technology, and has now completed an appraisal drilling campaign at a new site called Project Blanford in Millard County, Utah.

The vertical appraisal well was drilled in under eleven days and reached a depth of approximately 11,200 feet. Measured temperatures exceeded 555°F, making it the hottest well in the company's history. Temperature logs place the site above the 95th percentile for deep geothermal gradients across the Western United States.

Multi-gigawatt potential

An independent assessment based on drilling data shows the Blanford site has the potential to produce multiple gigawatts of geothermal energy. A diagnostic fracture injection test was also completed, confirming that the target formation can be stimulated. The test provided key data for further development planning.

Easier bedrock lowers costs

Fervo's previous projects have been carried out in metamorphic and igneous rock formations. The geothermal reservoir at Blanford instead consists of sedimentary formations, including sandstones, claystones, and carbonates. These formations are easier and cheaper to drill than the granite typically used for geothermal projects. This means the global resource potential for so-called EGS, enhanced geothermal systems, is expanded.

Progressively higher temperatures

Fervo has successively drilled into increasingly hotter reservoirs. At the company's Project Red, the resource temperature measured approximately 365°F. At Cape Station, the temperature was around 400°F. Now the temperature at Blanford exceeds 555°F. Higher temperatures lead to higher output per well and better efficiency in the power plants.

How the technology works

Fervo pumps cold water underground, where it is heated by the Earth's natural heat. The water is then brought back to the surface. Power plant technology based on organic Rankine cycle converts the geothermal energy into electricity. The process emits no carbon dioxide or other pollutants. One hundred percent of the water is reinjected into the ground after use.

The company uses fiber optic cables in its wells to collect real-time data on flow, temperature, and performance. AI-based analysis of subsurface data is used to identify where the best resources are located and to optimize drilling plans.

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