Google servers soon to be powered by geothermal energy? In any case, this is the ambition of Fervo Energy, a start-up specializing in the field. It has just passed a major milestone on its Project Red site by generating a record amount of energy during a test.
Google could therefore soon have part of its servers based on the power of geothermal energy thanks to Fervo Energy. For the tech giants, energy is a major issue, and the tide is changing very quickly, not really in the right direction. It is for them today to consider the question of renewable energies to project their activity in the future. Based on this observation, can geothermal energy be a viable option?
A historical test
Fervo Energy has clearly exceeded imaginable limits in the exploration of geothermal energy. During a 30-day test in northern Nevada, the start-up managed to generate a record power of 3.5 megawatts. To give you an idea, this is equivalent to the power needed to power approximately 2,800 homes.
No other geothermal system had achieved this result before. It must be said that Fervo Energy uses state-of-the-art technologies in its approach to geothermal energy: new horizontal drilling techniques and fiber optic sensors that allow them to exploit underground resources much more efficiently. Project Red is currently one step ahead of anything else.
Untapped potential
In this case, why geothermal energy has not been in the small papers of Google before? There are many obstacles: high initial costs, highly variable available resources depending on the local geology, risks during drilling and the durability of resources that are difficult to manage. However, this method has immense potential, which remains for the moment under-exploited by conventional geothermal projects. These are mainly centered on easily accessible hydrothermal resources, which greatly limits their effectiveness.
Fervo Energy offers a completely different approach. Its main innovation is to be able to artificially create permeability in the geological layers thanks to horizontal drilling. Following this, special fluids are injected into the drilled areas to create fractures and access deeper resources. This design would considerably increase the number of potential sites for the establishment of power plants. This would also help optimize the performance of these sites globally.
Geothermal energy also has another big advantage: it does not emit carbon once the plant is built. Unlike other sources of renewable energy, such as solar or wind, it is constant, and its production is continuous.
Even if other obstacles remain to be overcome, notably a reduction in costs, it is quite possible that Fervo Energy is on the right track to move the geothermal industry forward. Even more if it has the support of Google, which sees it as a tasty opportunity to run its servers without emitting carbon. The company already opened an ecological campus last year, proof that it cares about the environment… and especially about its image.
Sources: Engadget, Canary Media
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