Advanced geothermal startups are just getting warmed up

The article highlights growing momentum in the advanced geothermal energy sector, which has garnered bipartisan support in the U.S. Congress. Startups like Houston-based Fervo are advancing projects that utilize deeper and hotter geothermal wells, employing directional drilling techniques adapted from the oil and gas industry to reach depths of nearly 16,000 feet with stable temperatures around 520°F. Fervo recently secured significant funding, including $100 million from Breakthrough Energy Catalyst and additional loans, enabling it to move forward with the Cape Station project in Utah, which aims to generate 300 megawatts of continuous electricity—enough to power approximately 180,000 homes. Other startups are also making strides by partnering with established geothermal developers like Ormat to deploy innovative technologies that extract both heat and pressure from underground water to generate electricity more efficiently. The consistent, round-the-clock power generation capability of geothermal plants has attracted interest from data center developers, with projections suggesting geothermal could supply nearly two-thirds of data center electricity demand by 2030