San Antonio facility selected for U.S. DoD geothermal pilot program
Arrival of F-15EX Eagle at the Joint Base San Antonio (source: Joint Base San Antonio / flickr, Creative Commons)
Carlo Cariaga
12 Jan 2023
The U.S. Department of Defense has identified Joint Base San Antonio for a pilot program for geothermal power generation, particularly using EGS technologies.
The Joint Base San Antonio (JBSA) military facility in San Antonio, Texas will be the site of the pilot program of the United States Department of Defense (DoD) for geothermal power generation. The San Antonio – Electromagnetic Defense (SA-EMD) Initiative will be working on the project that aims to provide a more resilient and renewable power supply to U.S. DoD facilities.
“When it comes to military missions, it is vital that energy be available when needed to ensure national security,” said SA-EMD Executive Director Michael Lovell. “But as long as DOD relies on off-site utilities, there may be vulnerabilities in everyday operations on a military installation.”
The U.S. DoD has recently published a call for prototypes for a geothermal power generation system for DoD installations across the United States. The JBSA had already been indicated as a facility for this project, along with the Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho, Fort Wainwright in Alaska, and Fort Irwin in California.
“One of the reasons JBSA was selected for this effort was the high number of partnerships we have through SA-EMD with technology, academia, and industry professionals locally, across the country, and around the world,” Lovell said.
Staff members working supporting SA-EMD are excited to bring another innovative pilot program to JBSA. A key aspect of the pilot project is that it aims to test Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) technologies. While there is little to no commercial EGS applications yet, the DoD hopes that this will change with the work to be done by the SA-EMD.
It is expected that through the pilot project, a geothermal prototype will be able to explore the on-site geothermal resources at JBSA, thereby providing a viable option for 24/7 power generation. This is vital for supplying the electrical power needed not by the DoD, but also the Department of the Air Force and Space Force.
Source: JBSA
