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The method of making electricity from the Earth's natural heat has been moving forward quietly for many years. Recently, that effort has reached a milestone1 with a big, new project.
Southern California Edison announced it will buy electricity from Fervo Energy, a company based in Houston, Texas. Fervo uses geothermal energy to produce electric power. The company is going to drill up to 125 geothermal wells in the southwestern state of Utah. The goal is to produce 400 megawatts of electricity. That is being described as enough to supply power to 400,000 homes.
Wilson Ricks is an energy systems researcher at Princeton University in New Jersey3. He said if the business deal helps geothermal technology, it could be "massively4 impactful for global decarbonization." The term decarbonization means using machines and methods that do not produce carbon-based substances when they are used.
New geothermal companies are using the drilling technology that oil and gas industries developed. They drill down into areas where underground rock is very hot to create steam, which can be used for power production. Engineers have been working on this technology for many years.
The United States is among the world's leaders in geothermal energy. But the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) says it accounts for less than half of one percent of the nation's electricity.
Fervo is among the first companies to drill in what are called geothermal reservoirs. The EIA describes these as areas of very hot rock that are fairly close to the surface of the Earth - between one and three kilometers. In 2021, the company signed an agreement with Google to drill three wells in Nevada. The Associated Press (AP) reported that the project began supplying power to the Nevada electricity system, or grid5, in November.
The new development in Utah is called the Cape6 Station project. It is about 320 kilometers south of Salt Lake City. It is expected to begin providing electricity as early as 2026.
California Energy Commission7 Chair David Hochschild said his state supports electricity that does not release carbon when it is produced. He said geothermal power works well with solar farms to provide steady electricity when the wind is not blowing, or clouds block the sun. He believes this is important to ensure reliable energy as California cuts the use of oil, gas and coal.
Sarah Jewett is vice8 president of Fervo. She called the deal "exciting." Jewett said the deal "...isn't a niche9 energy resource going to a niche use." The word "niche" describes something that has very limited availability and limited use in the real world.
Words in This Story
milestone -n. an event that marks progress in someone's life or in the development of a company or organization
geothermal -adj. related to natural heat from beneath the Earth's surface
megawatt -n. one million watt2 hours: a measure of electrical power
impact -n. something that causes a result
1 milestone | |
n.里程碑;划时代的事件 | |
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2 watt | |
n.瓦,瓦特 | |
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3 jersey | |
n.运动衫 | |
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4 massively | |
adv. 大量地,大规模地 | |
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5 grid | |
n.高压输电线路网;地图坐标方格;格栅 | |
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6 cape | |
n.海角,岬;披肩,短披风 | |
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7 commission | |
n.委托,授权,委员会,拥金,回扣,委任状 | |
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8 vice | |
n.坏事;恶习;[pl.]台钳,老虎钳;adj.副的 | |
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9 niche | |
n.壁龛;合适的职务(环境、位置等) | |
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