『The Geothermal Energy Podcast』のカバーアート

The Geothermal Energy Podcast

The Geothermal Energy Podcast

著者： Frank Lapinski
無料で聴く

このコンテンツについて

 Interviewing the movers and shakers of geothermal! Episodes coming out soon (expect roughly 3 per month) We also publish a weekly newsletter that you can subscribe to here: https://geothermalweekly.substack.com/

geothermalweekly.substack.comGeothermal Weekly 博物学 科学 自然・生態学
エピソード
  • Mike Eros - Chief Geoscientist of Sage Geosystems

    Mike Eros - Chief Geoscientist of Sage Geosystems
    2025/12/18
    In this episode, we’re diving into the world of subsurface energy storage and geothermal power with Mike Eros, Chief Geoscientist at Sage Geosystems, where he’s pioneering geo-pressured geothermal and long-duration energy storage solutions. A former ExxonMobil subsurface expert, he’s now helping reshape how we tap into and store Earth’s heat.We explore how Mike transitioned from oil and gas into geothermal, the potential of geo-pressured systems for grid-scale power and storage, and Sage Geosystems’ groundbreaking projects reshaping the future of energy.Episode At-a-Glance* Storage + Geothermal: Sage merges long-duration pressure storage with geothermal heat extraction — delivering baseload + peaking power from the same well.* From O&G to Geo: Subsurface and drilling skills transition directly into geothermal; the biggest bottleneck is industry awareness, not ability.* EarthStore Pilot: First 3 MW project in Texas test results showing 70–75% storage efficiency with <2% fluid loss — built using off-the-shelf drilling tools.* DoD + Meta: Early customers want resilience (military bases) and 24/7 clean power (data centers).* Ormat Partnership: Taps into existing interconnections and Ormat’s equipment procuring capabilities — potentially reducing geothermal timelines from years to months.* Superhot Roadmap: Drill to ~16,000 ft, then frack deep to access 300°C rock for 10× power density using mostly standard oil & gas gear.* The Big Blockers: Organic-Rankine Cycle (ORC) turbine and broader equipment delays, interconnection queues, and lack of drilled pilots — not geology.⏱️ Timestamps (Notes below)[1:04] What got Mike into Geothermal? What was his career?[6:14] How do Sage’s Pressured Geothermal Systems work?[16:59] Why do we push the working fluid lung-like “huff-n-puff” operations in fractures?[21:06] What are the variables affecting the economics on your projects and the efficiencies on your storage projects? How can we make geothermal scale faster?[29:55] How does your team measure success? What are the longer term goals?[33:57] How is your team exploring using super critical CO2 as a working fluid?[36:15] What does it look like to build out a Sage site from ideation to creation?[40:59] How is your team engaging with different partners to get things done? [43:07] What are the risks and challenges your team is facing?[45:58] How does financing these different projects look?[49:54] How does your team work with different locales to help integrate projects with the community? What about other regulatory frameworks and environmental risks your team has to handle?[59:31] How are the steps back in supporting certain renewables like wind and solar impacting your team?[1:04:49] Lessons from working with San Miguel Electric Cooperative and ERCOT[1:11:07] How is your team approaching permitting in regards to your work in Altascosa County?[1:13:50] How has your team been approaching the grid interconnection process?[1:15:22] Digging in on the project with the US Air Force in Starr County.[1:19:07] How is your team developing and navigating partnerships with other military branches and the broader US military?[1:22:31] Sage and Meta’s partnership and how the team is approaching it.[1:25:59] Partnership with Ormat in the west.[1:29:29] Where do you see this partnership with Ormat going?[1:31:50] How have technological advancements in energy and drilling contributed to geothermal today?[1:40:08] How can we get communities and the government more excited about geothermal? What can they do to help?[1:45:18] What’s coming up for Sage?[1:48:23] If you had a magic wand, what problem in geothermal would you solve today?Additional Notes* Regarding 10 to 20% dilation - As an additional note, the larger the volume put in the ground compared to the percent that is brought out/smaller volumes allows the system to stay above fracture opening pressure. This maintains sufficient presssure in the fracture to keep the system open without proppant.* Regarding the mention of $0.065/kWh - Mike misspoke on the 10-12 cents. He meant that the costs would fall to the lower side with scale with a target of 6 to 7 cents per kWh. Additionally, for energy storage, the team is targetting Long-duration CAPEX of $2.25M/MW.🔬 Sage’s Tech: What Makes “Geo-Pressured Geothermal” Unique?If you’re new to Sage, their system is: part geothermal, part inverted pumped hydro.Instead of just drilling into hot dry rock and circulating water, they:* Drill mostly vertical wells, with a short deviation.* Create a lung-shaped fracture network beneath the surface.* Cycle fluid in a “huff-and-puff” pattern—injecting to build pressure, then releasing it to run a surface turbine. Where it fits in:* 8-12 hour duration long-term storage* Ideal for solar-heavy regions like Texas & California, as well as Australia* Cheaper + higher energy density than lithium-ion beyond 4 hour discharge durationsSo far, this has led to:...
    続きを読む 一部表示
    1 時間 53 分
  • Tim Lines - CEO of Geothermal Wells, Geothermal Evangelist

    Tim Lines - CEO of Geothermal Wells, Geothermal Evangelist
    2025/09/12
    In this episode, we sit down with Tim Lines, a petroleum engineer turned geothermal advocate, whose career spans 40+ countries in oil & gas, district heating, and now geothermal innovation. We explore how he was drawn into the sector, the technical-economic feasibility of geothermal at scale, and his company’s work to advance projects in the UK and abroad.⏱️ Timestamps* 00:00 - Introduction, What led Tim to geothermal and why now? Exploration of future of geothermal energy* 7:08 - Breaking down more of the future of geothermal in Texas report* 12:30 - How are current technologies trying to solve the heat issues for drilling with geothermal? What can other geothermal developers learn?* 17:32 - Digging into different drilling fluids and which make more sense to use* 21:20 - How can we get better at processing and reducing errors in sensing data in the context of geothermal drilling?* 23:57 - European SPE Geothermal Energy Hackathon* 28:48 - How have your assumptions about geothermal energy changed as you’ve been involved in the field? Tim also discusses one of the projects he’s been working on in the UK and discusses the different partners and techniques he’s used to find success* 41:09 - Discussing how drilling and fracking has changed from the 90s to today* 46:05 - How can we keep pricing for geothermal competitive? What political and economic tools are available?* 52:40 - Examples of countries doing great jobs with feed in tariffs for geothermal* 59:28 - How can we work with local partners to create unique solutions to water problems for geothermal? (in this case, Tim worked with local municipalities to build a reservoir)* 1:07:03 - What are the challenges of bringing American drilling technologies abroad?* 1:10:52 - Who are the different segments of customers for geothermal projects? What are their differing needs?* 1:23:57 - What are the different challenges with customer discovery for geothermal? What tools are out there?* 1:28:56 - What are the challenges to getting different offtakers involved? How can we get them excited about geothermal?* 1:30:48 - How do American and international offtakers differ in needs?* 1:32:56 - How does your team source equipment and talent for geothermal development?* 1:39:17- What is the most important problem that, if we could solve it today, would totally change things?🎙 Why Geothermal, and Why Now?Tim explains how his journey into geothermal began with the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) and later deepened through Jamie Beard’s invitation to contribute to the Texas Geothermal Report. His rigorous bottom-up modeling compared geothermal’s potential against IEA forecasts—and revealed the resource could, technically, meet a large amount of global energy demand by 2050.You can read the newest IEA report on Geothermal Energy here.🔢 How Do You Calculate Geothermal’s Potential?Tim walks through his methods—reservoir assumptions, gradients, power conversion models, and capital cost estimates. Initially, he assumed ~3–4 MW per well pair. But projects like Fervo’s at Utah FORGE have since shown yields closer to 10 MW, with the potential for much higher.⚡️ Updating the Assumptions: From 3 MW to 25 MW+What would Tim change today? Higher well yields, multiple laterals around a single injector, and innovations in pumping to boost flow rates. He sees pathways toward 25+ MW per “well unit,” crucial for serving hyperscaler data centers and other industrial loads.NREL has also published tools (read more here and here) that helped him through this process.🛠 The Engineering Challenges of High-Temperature WellsWe dig into hurdles like:* MWD tools frying at 175–200°C and solutions like mud cooling.* High-temperature cement integrity in projects like Iceland’s magma drilling. * Fracture conductivity loss over time, requiring stronger proppants.💻 Hackathons and Engaging Young EngineersThrough SPE, Tim helped launch geothermal hackathons in Europe (newest one can be found here), blending data science and reservoir engineering. These programs brought students and young professionals worldwide into real geothermal problem-solving—creating a pipeline of new ideas and talent.🏗 Lessons from Looking GloballyTim reflects on how the broader global market looks for Geothermal Energy:* Early assumptions about rapid rollouts were optimistic.* The US remains tough, given cheap natural gas.* Focus has shifted to regions with feed-in tariffs/energy incentives (e.g., U.K.’s CfD, Germany’s Renewables Energy Act, Taiwan’s FITs, Japan’s Feed in Tariffs), effectively promising higher prices energy producers an above-market price and long term certainty and demand to help derisk renewable energy investments.* Heat networks are a powerful way to deliver low-cost social benefits—and attract municipal partners. Check out our episode with Eric Bosworth for more.💧 Water, Reservoirs, and Creative SolutionsSupplying enough water for fracking is...
    続きを読む 一部表示
    1 時間 43 分
  • Eric Bosworth - Manager of Clean Technology at Eversource [Part 2]

    Eric Bosworth - Manager of Clean Technology at Eversource [Part 2]
    2025/05/15

    Hello folks,

    Welcome back to Part 2 of our conversation with Eric Bosworth (watch part 1 here).

    Eric is the Manager of Clean Technology at Eversource, his journey spanning oilfield engineering, utility infrastructure, and emerging decarbonization technologies. Currently, Eric leads efforts to pilot and scale alternatives to fossil gas - including hydrogen, carbon capture, and (most relevant) community-scale geothermal.

    He draws on field experience in oil and gas, system planning expertise from utility engineering, and a customer-first approach to identify and deploy the best-fit solutions across Eversource’s portfolio. Most notably, Eric led the development and execution of the Framingham geothermal pilot - one of the first utility-owned thermal energy networks in the United States.

    🧠 Highlights

    * Framingham's real-world data shows strong winter performance and customer satisfaction, even in extreme cold.

    * Scaling = viability: Networked geothermal shows falling marginal costs with larger customer bases.

    * Magic wand wish? Eric would create more drilling firms in the Northeast tomorrow; workforce gaps are the biggest blocker to scale.

    * Beyond boreholes: A future “thermal marketplace” could trade heat between buildings, pools, wastewater, and more.

    🔍 Where to Learn More

    * Project updates & background: eversource.com/geothermal

    * Find Eric on LinkedIn to connect and collaborate

    * Industry groups: Heat pump alliances, geothermal networks, utility decarbonization forums



    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit geothermalweekly.substack.com
    続きを読む 一部表示
    37 分
まだレビューはありません