Google Invests In Enhanced Geothermal

Google.org announced that they are expanding their renewable effort of RE<Coal (renewable energy is less than coal).  They are investing $10.25 million in enhanced geothermal systems (EGS).  This is huge.  There is a lot of potential for geothermal energy and it’s not unique to any particular climate.  These advances in clean energy could provide to be very useful.  Instead of looking for hot pockets beneath the earth, EGS fractures rock and circulates water through them, producing steam.  The steam is then harnessed in a traditional turbine to create energy.  See the video below.

[from Google Press Release]
A recent MIT report on EGS estimates that just 2% of the heat below the continental United States between 3 and 10 kilometers, depths within the range of current drilling technology, is more than 2,500 times the country’s total annual energy use.

To advance EGS, Google.org announced funding for two companies and a university:

• AltaRock Energy, Inc.: $6.25 million investment to develop innovative technologies to achieve significant cost reductions and improved performance in EGS projects. For more information, please visit http://www.altarockenergy.com/.
• Potter Drilling, Inc.: $4 million investment in two tranches, to develop new approaches to lower the cost and expand the range of deep hard rock drilling, a critical element to large-scale deployment of EGS. For more information, please visit http://www.potterdrilling.com/.
• Southern Methodist University Geothermal Lab: $489,521 grant to improve understanding of the size and distribution of geothermal energy resources and to update geothermal mapping of North America. For more information, please visit http://www.smu.edu/geothermal/.

Source: Google Press Release