Austin Energy looking forward to using geothermal energy

While some environmentalists continue to argue against a new gas plant that would serve Austin Energy’s customers when the prices of electricity are at their peak, Mike Enger, the utility’s vice president for energy markets and resource planning, is looking forward to a new technology set to become part of Austin Energy’s carbon-free portfolio.

Enhanced geothermal technology will give the utility “baseload carbon-free generation much like a nuclear power plant does,” but perhaps at a lower cost, Enger said.

“Unlike some of the other renewables,” such as wind and solar cells, “this produces each and every hour,” and is “totally unaffected by the weather,” Enger told the Austin Monitor. Like every new technology, “this will present challenge, but we believe if we are able to overcome the challenges, we will be able to do this at scale (and) we’ll be able to do this at a lower price point than nuclear power,” he said.

Austin Energy has an agreement with Exceed Geo Energy, an Austin-based company, to drill into the earth near Nacogdoches. He explained that the drillers would pump very cold CO2, in a liquid form called supercritical CO2, into the earth about 10,000 feet or more. When the CO2 hits the hot interior of the earth, it will shoot back up as steam and turn a turbine.

According to Enger, looking around the state of Texas, heat is found closer to the surface in East Texas and South Texas. He explained that the average depth of an oil well is 6,000 feet to 7,000 feet. Austin Energy has signed an agreement to buy power from the plant once it is operating. Having that agreement makes it easier for the company to finance the project, but the utility will not spend any money until the plant is producing power.

“This could be a really great addition” to the utility’s portfolio, he said. He said Texas is a particularly good place for this type of operation because the state already has a number of people who have worked in the oil industry and those skills are transferable. Because it is a local company, Enger said it will also be creating jobs in Austin.

The plant is expected to begin operations sometime in 2025. However, there are some things outside of the control of Austin Energy and the geothermal company, such as connecting to ERCOT, the state’s grid operator. In addition, the plant’ s operator must get all the necessary permits to begin operations.

City Council could hear about this project this morning when they meet as the Austin Energy Utility Oversight Committee.

Photo by Hansueli Krapf, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The Austin Monitor’s work is made possible by donations from the community. Though our reporting covers donors from time to time, we are careful to keep business and editorial efforts separate while maintaining transparency. A complete list of donors is available here, and our code of ethics is explained here.