The US Department of the Interior (DoI)’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has approved the 2GW Fervo Cape geothermal power project in Utah, US.
According to the DoI, the latest move marks a major milestone in expanding geothermal energy on public lands.
The American geothermal power project is also expected to contribute to the Biden-Harris administration’s goal of achieving a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035.
Located in Beaver County, the Fervo Cape project is being developed by Fervo Energy. The multi-phase geothermal development project will span around 631 acres, with 148 acres on public lands.
Once fully commissioned, the geothermal project will provide clean, baseload power to more than two million households. Phase I of the project is slated to supply continuous energy to the grid in 2026.
The Fervo Cape project uses enhanced geothermal technology, injecting water into heated underground rock formations and then obtaining the heated water to produce electricity.
Currently, the BLM has sanctioned nearly 32GW of clean energy projects on public lands, including 42 under the administration. The department is also proposing new categorical exclusion to expedite future geothermal energy developments through a simplified resource confirmation process.
The categorical exclusion would cover geothermal resource confirmation operations on up to 20 acres. This could involve drilling wells, such as core drilling, temperature gradient wells, or resource wells, to verify the presence of a geothermal resource, enhance injection support, or establish connections between wells.
BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning said: “The BLM is committed to supporting the responsible growth of geothermal energy on public lands.
“We need all the tools in the toolbox to reach a clean energy future, and this proposed categorical exclusion will be helpful in accelerating the process of locating new geothermal resources.”
The Fervo Cape approval comes after the BLM Nevada State Office’s geothermal lease sale earlier this month, where the BLM sold 64 parcels of land covering nearly 218,000 acres, generating $7.8m in high bids.
