A proposed geothermal power project wants public feedback [Video]

CEDAR CITY, Utah — The Bureau of Land Management has extended a general invitation for comments on the Fervo Cape Geothermal Power Project. This enhanced geothermal power project would, if approved, build new facilities on BLM land that employ a new method of clean energy generation.

How geothermal power works

Traditionally, geothermal power pulls up heated water already present underground. That water is then used — directly or indirectly — to turn a turbine and generate electricity. Since the Earth’s inner layers constantly push heat out toward the crust, geothermal energy is constant, abundant, and renewable. 

Enhanced geothermal, on the other hand, injects fluid down into hot rock formations underground and then extracts it to generate electricity. This would allow facilities to operate even where groundwater is not abundant. The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy estimates that enhanced geothermal energy could power more than 65 million homes in America.

The Fervo Cape Project

The proposed project would …