据钻井地带7月19日报道，位于休斯敦总部的地热初创公司Fervo Energy在周二的新闻发布会中表示，他们已成功完成一项井测试，以确认利用石油和天然气钻探技术进行地热能开发的商业可行性。
根据该发布的新闻，为期30天的井测试是地热能行业的标准做法，并且在高温条件下取得了每秒63升的流量，使得该系统能够产生3.5兆瓦的电力，这不仅刷新了增强型地热系统的流量和功率输出新高，还是首次在地热能开发领域实现了利用油气钻探技术取得如此成果。此次测试是在Fervo Energy在内华达北部进行的名为“红色项目”的全方位商业试点中完成的。
Fervo首席执行官Tim Latimer表示：“通过应用来自石油和天然气行业的钻井技术，我们已证明可以在全球新的地理位置生产7天24小时的全天候零碳能源资源。”他还说：“我们今天分享的令人难以置信的结果是Fervo员工和行业合作伙伴，特别是Google多年来专注工作和承诺的成果。”
根据新闻发布会所言，Fervo和Google在2021年签署了全球首份企业协议，旨在开发下一代地热能源，目标是为Google在拉斯维加斯的云服务区提供全天候零碳资源，以减少公司对化石燃料的时间依赖。
Fervo表示，“我们是首家成功钻探商业地热产能水平井的公司，实现了3250英尺的横向长度，达到191摄氏度的温度，并通过严格的示踪试验证明了可控流量，同时在项目完成过程中没有发生任何事故”。
Fervo表示，通过试点过程中收集的数据将“推动地热能的快速部署”。公司计划下一口水平井的功率输出将超过试点设计的两倍。
Google能源与气候高级总监Michael Terrell表示：“实现我们全天候使用零碳能源的目标需要新的稳定清洁电源来补充风能和太阳能等间歇性可再生能源。”他还说：“我们于2021年与Fervo合作，因为我们看到他们的地热技术在大规模解锁关键的全时零碳能源方面具有重要潜力，我们对Fervo达到这一重要技术里程碑感到非常高兴。”
Fervo表示，试点结果支持美国能源部（DOE）的增强型地热Earthshot计划的发现。增强型地热Earthshot计划旨在通过将其成本降低90%，到2035年将地热能价格降至每兆瓦时445美元。Fervo补充说，地热能可为美国提供超过20%的电力需求，并与风能和太阳能相辅相成，实现完全脱碳的电网。
普林斯顿大学的助理教授兼“零碳能源系统研究与优化（ZERO）实验室”负责人Jesse Jenkins在新闻发布会中表示：“电力系统建模证实地热能可以在完全脱碳的电网中发挥重要作用。Fervo成功的商业试点将把下一代地热技术从理论应用转化为实际应用，为开发地热的全部潜力奠定基础。”
同样，德文能源也是Fervo的投资者，早在今年4月就已投资了1000万美元。2021年，Fervo是美国能源部（DOE）选定的17个项目之一，共获得4600万美元的资金支持，符合其在犹他大学进行的地热能研究前沿观测计划。
胡耀东 译自 钻井地带
原文如下：
Fervo Reaches Milestone Using Oil Drilling Tech for Geothermal
Houston-based geothermal startup Fervo Energy has successfully completed a well test to confirm the commercial viability of using oil and gas drilling technology for geothermal energy, the company said in a news release Tuesday.
The 30-day well test, a standard for geothermal, achieved a flow rate of 63 liters per second at high temperature that enables 3.5 megawatts (MW) of electric production, setting new records for both flow and power output from an enhanced geothermal system, according to the release. The test was done at Fervo Energy’s full-scale commercial pilot, dubbed Project Red, in northern Nevada.
“By applying drilling technology from the oil and gas industry, we have proven that we can produce 24/7 carbon-free energy resources in new geographies across the world”, Fervo CEO Tim Latimer said. “The incredible results we share today are the product of many years of dedicated work and commitment from Fervo employees and industry partners, especially Google.”
According to the news release, Fervo and Google signed the world’s first corporate agreement to develop next-generation geothermal power in 2021, aiming to power Google’s Cloud region in Las Vegas with an “always-on”, carbon-free resource that will reduce the company’s hourly reliance on fossil fuels.
Fervo said it is the first company to successfully drill a horizontal well pair for commercial geothermal production, achieving lateral lengths of 3,250 feet, reaching a temperature of 191 degrees Celsius, and “proving controlled flow through rigorous tracer testing”, while completing the project without any incidents.
The data collected through the course of the pilot will “enable rapid advancement in geothermal deployment”, Fervo said. The company plans for its next horizontal well to reach more than double the power output of the pilot design.
“Achieving our goal of operating on 24/7 carbon-free energy will require new sources of firm, clean power to complement variable renewables like wind and solar,” Google Senior Director for Energy and Climate Michael Terrell said. “We partnered with Fervo in 2021 because we see significant potential for their geothermal technology to unlock a critical source of 24/7 carbon-free energy at scale, and we are thrilled to see Fervo reach this important technical milestone.”
The pilot results support the findings of the USA Department of Energy’s (DOE) Enhanced Geothermal Earthshot, Fervo said. The Enhanced Geothermal Earthshot initiative aims to bring enhanced geothermal systems to the country by reducing its cost by 90 percent to 445 per megawatt-hour by 2035. Fervo added that geothermal energy could supply over 20 percent of USA power needs and complement wind and solar to reach a fully decarbonized grid.
“Power systems modeling confirms that geothermal can be a critical player in a fully decarbonized grid. Fervo’s successful commercial pilot takes next-generation geothermal technology from the realm of models into the real world and starts us on a path to unlock geothermal’s full potential”, Jesse Jenkins, Assistant Professor and leader of zero-carbon Energy systems Research and Optimization (ZERO) lab at Princeton University, said in the news release.
Devon Energy is also an investor in Fervo, having invested $10 million earlier in April. In 2021, Fervo was one of the 17 projects selected by the DOE to receive a cumulative $46 million in funding, in line with its Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy Initiative at the University of Utah.
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