You know about the Newberry Volcano right…? It’s a unique geothermal asset in the Central Oregon that has been the focus of utilizing the incredibly warm volcanic activity to generate energy. And it’s picking up… steam? I don’t know. This is a pun rich environment. But suffice it to say Mazama Energy has raised $135 million to continue pursuing the effort.
No. It’s not an Oregon company. Yes. It is using a unique asset of our state.
“The breakthrough in superhot geothermal is turning extreme heat into a repeatable, economic power system,” said Sriram Vasantharajan, CEO of Mazama Energy. “At Newberry, we have demonstrated the critical pieces together: extreme-temperature drilling, reservoir creation and heat harvesting, at temperatures no other engineered geothermal system has achieved. We are now driving that integrated system toward greater speed, efficiency and scale. That is the foundation for commercial superhot power.”
According to Canary Media:
The startup hit its first major milestone last October: Mazama said it built the world’s hottest enhanced geothermal system — reaching 331 degrees Celsius (629 degrees Fahrenheit) — at its pilot site near the Newberry Volcano. The project, which received a U.S. Department of Energy grant, earned praise at the time from industry experts.
The new financing will fund Mazama’s next initiative: Project Ceres, which is supported by the Department of Energy. It involves drilling horizontally to demonstrate the potential for 15 megawatts of clean electricity capacity from each well. Vasantharajan said the startup plans to start drilling wells later this year and start testing the system early next year.
TechCrunch noted:
Mazama plans to start generating electricity sometime next year and said its first site in Oregon is capable of producing 10 gigawatts of electricity. That’s a sharp upward revision from the company’s estimate last year, when investor Vinod Khosla said the site had the potential to produce 5 gigawatts.
Enhanced geothermal startups are shaping up to be the dark horse in the battle to power AI data centers and other large loads on the grid. While tech companies and data center developers have been throwing their weight behind natural gas, geothermal startups have been quickly advancing their technology.
For more, visit Manzama Energy.
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[…] power site in the state, and two companies are drilling into it. Neither one is from here. Mazama Energy raised $135 million in September, on the back of building the world’s hottest enhanced […]