Nevada is the first state to deploy a grid-connected geothermal system to supply clean power.
Leveraging a $5.4 million Department of Energy investment, the Ormat Desert Peak project is using an enhanced geothermal system (EGS) to extend the life of previously unproductive geothermal wells.
The installation has increased power output by nearly 38% – providing an additional 1.7 mW to the grid.
EGS technologies use directional drilling and pressurized water to capture energy that was once considered uneconomical or unrecoverable.
The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that EGS has the potential to enable development of 100-500 gW of geothermal resource capacity in the U.S.
