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Big Tech Explores Geothermal Energy for Data Centers
Discover how major technology companies are tapping into geothermal energy to power their data centers. Explore the benefits, sustainability, and innovations driving this shift towards cleaner energy solutions in the tech industry.
Big Tech’s Quest for Clean Energy: Harnessing Geothermal Power
In a landscape where big tech companies in the United States are grappling with the challenge of securing adequate clean energy to fuel their ambitious data center expansions, a novel solution is emerging. Some of these firms are now exploring the potential of tapping into the Earth’s subterranean heat to generate emissions-free electricity, utilizing drilling methods derived from the oil and gas fracking revolution.
On Monday, Meta, the parent company of Facebook, made headlines by announcing a partnership with a pioneering start-up known as Sage Geosystems. This collaboration aims to develop up to 150 megawatts of advanced geothermal energy, a significant contribution to powering Meta’s growing network of data centers. To put this into perspective, this amount of energy is roughly sufficient to power around 70,000 homes.
Sage plans to employ fracking techniques, which have previously been instrumental in extracting large quantities of oil and gas from shale formations. However, rather than pursuing fossil fuels, Sage’s innovative approach focuses on creating fractures deep underground—thousands of feet beneath the Earth’s surface—and injecting water into these fractures. The natural heat and pressure found in these depths will warm the water to a temperature that enables it to generate electricity through a turbine, all while avoiding the greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming.
As Cindy Taff, the chief executive of Sage and a former Shell executive with 36 years of experience, aptly puts it: “It’s basically the same fracking technology. The difference is that we’re going after clean heat instead of hydrocarbons, such as oil and gas.”
To validate its methodology, Sage has successfully drilled a test well in South Texas, showcasing its approach’s viability. The start-up is now poised to embark on constructing its first large-scale power plant, with a site yet to be determined, ideally located east of the Rocky Mountains. The initial phase of this ambitious project is projected to come online by 2027.