Geothermal Power & Storage
Utilizing the Earth’s heat, which is inexhaustible and providing unlimited power.
Why Texzon Utilities for Geothermal?
Enhanced Geothermal Systems
(EGS), or human-made geothermal power, holds the potential to power more than 65 million American homes and businesses, and is the next frontier for renewable energy deployment. The DOE Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO) EGS program supports research, development, and demonstration projects that guide enhanced geothermal technologies towards commercial viability.
What is an Enhanced Geothermal System (EGS)
A naturally occurring geothermal system, known as a hydrothermal system, requires three key elements to generate electricity: heat, water, and permeability (when water can move freely through the underground rock). In many areas, however, the underground rock is hot but there is not enough natural permeability or water present (also called hot dry rock geothermal). In those cases, an enhanced geothermal system can be used to create a human-made reservoir to tap that heat for power.
In an EGS, fluid is injected deep underground under carefully controlled conditions, which cause man-made and pre-existing fractures to re-open, creating permeability. Increased permeability allows fluid to circulate throughout the now-fractured hot rock, and the fluid becomes hot as it circulates. Operators pump the hot water up to the surface, where it generates electricity for the grid. Learn more about how an EGS works or watch a video on the steps and benefits in EGS development.
EGS could facilitate geothermal development beyond traditional hydrothermal regions, thereby extending geothermal energy production nationwide. EGS advances are being demonstrated worldwide today, in both the public and private sectors.
Founded in 2020, Houston, Texas-based Sage Geosystems has a different approach to hot dry rock geothermal, being the first company to demonstrate the ability to deliver cost-effective and commercially viable new generation geothermal with their proprietary Geopressured Geothermal System (GGS) design which, unlike EGS, utilizes both the pressure and heat energy of the water being cycled underground. Sage is targeting formation temperatures and depths that can be economically drilled using existing oilfield technologies and equipment. The company’s technologies include 4-24+ hour duration geothermal energy storage solutions that can integrate with renewable energy sources such as solar and wind to ensure a continuous and reliable power supply, enabling baseload renewable energy, and with benefits over current storage solutions including smaller surface footprint, avoidance of sustainability issues relating to materials such as lithium, improved round trip efficiency, and long-duration storage capabilities.
Sage’s recent Series A financing will be used to fund EarthStore™, a new 3MW commercial facility in Texas based on Sage’s GGS technology that harvests energy from pressurized water stored deep underground and for 4-24+ hour duration periods. Construction of the facility is anticipated to begin in Q2 2024, with a targeted commission date of Q4 2024.
Cindy Taff, CEO of Sage Geosystems, said: “The first close of our Series A funding and our commercial facility are significant milestones in our mission to make Geopressured Geothermal System (GGS) technologies a reality. The success of our GGS technologies is not only critical to Sage Geosystems becoming post-revenue, but it is an essential step in accelerating the development of this proprietary geothermal baseload approach.”
The funding round was led by Chesapeake Energy Corporation, and included participation from technology investor Arch Meredith, Helium-3 Ventures, and support from existing investors Virya, LLC, Nabors Industries Ltd., and Ignis Energy.
Energy Storage (EarthStore™) Overview
Sage Geosystems’ storage solution (called EarthStore™) in association with Texzon Utilities energy is ready to scale now at a lower cost than pumped storage hydropower (PSH) and lithium-ion batteries.
Texzon Utilities can put this energy storage virtually anywhere and it has a meaningfully smaller surface footprint.
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Can provide both short- and long-duration energy storage
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Cheaper than PSH; order of magnitude less expensive than lithium-ion batteries for long-duration applications
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Ability to pair with existing wind and solar projects to create 24/7 baseload power
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Better economics than natural-gas peaking plants
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High flexibility and scalability to meet most energy storage needs
