Utah FORGE – a model for government-backed geothermal research
A piece by Tom Ough for the IFP examines the impact of the Utah FORGE for the geothermal sector, both in technical progress and in attracting further funding.
A fantastic article written by Tom Ough for the think tank Institute for Progress (IFP) closely examines the Utah FORGE projects, its history, results, and impact on the wider field of geothermal research and innovation.
Read the original piece via this link.
The funding opportunity for the Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy (FORGE) programme was first announced back in 2014. The first phase of the project was the selection of the project site, of which five candidates were considered: California, Utah, Idaho, Nevada, and Oregon. The site near Milford in Beaver County, Utah was selected in 2018, after some preliminary drilling had been done.
Technical breakthroughs of Utah FORGE
Led by the University of Utah’s Energy and Geoscience Institute, the USD 218 million budget of Utah FORGE lasted through mid-2024. FORGE had a small team led by Dr. Joseph Moore, working in partnership with private enterprise. The objective of the project is to reduce the cost of Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) by 90%, to USD45 per MWh by 2035. This was to be done by developing innovative drilling and reservoir stimulation techniques, as well as tools to establish well connectivity.
We have reported extensively on the technical achievements of Utah FORGE through the years. The project has increased its drilling speeds by fivefold, demonstrated successful well connectivity through stage-wise stimulation, and has provided a test environment for high-temperature drilling equipment. Just as importantly, all of the technical data from the Utah FORGE project are publicly accessible via the project Wiki page.
Based on IFP’s research and interviews, there have been early signs of success on this front. The results of FORGE has benefited established geothermal players like Ormat Technologies and have been instrumental to the EGS efforts of Fervo Energy. The numbers are not quite there yet, as Fervo is selling electricity at USD 100 per MWh based on a PPA with Southern California Edison.
Attracting more investment to geothermal
However, another aspiration was for the Utah FORGE project to spur more investment into the geothermal sector. Despite all the progress that Utah FORGE has made, its USD 218 million budget is a fraction of investments in other next-generation energy technologies, such as carbon management (USD 7 billion), advanced nuclear (USD 3.3 billion), and hydrogen hubs (USD 8 billion).
In recent years, there has been a growth in investor interest in various geothermal startups and ventures. A detailed discussion of this phenomenon will warrant its own article, but it suffices to say that geothermal companies have attracted investments from various sources including banks, institutional investors, venture capitalists, and private equity among others.
While it would be a stretch to attribute all of the increased investment in the geothermal sector to the Utah FORGE project, there is no doubt that it has helped draw more attention from external stakeholders.
Source: IFP
