There’s another kind of energy under the ground that’s clean, cheap, and plentiful

The US government, set to eliminate emissions from its electricity generation grid by 2035, has approved a huge geothermal project on public land in Utah led by Fervo Energy, a Houston-based seven-year-old startup that aims to scale up to producing 2GW, enough to supply more than one and a half million homes. Until now, the total geothermal energy in the entire country was 4GW, which means that the new plant could increase that generation capacity by 50%.

Geothermal energy harnesses the Earth’s natural heat to generate electricity. The Earth’s core produces heat in enormous quantities, and in certain areas, this heat is closer to the surface, which allows it to be harnessed to generate electricity.

Fervo’s project is designed to exploit these underground heat sources without the need to burn fossil fuels, making it a completely renewable energy source. It is considered a good alternative to traditional energy sources such as gas and coal because, unlike solar and wind that depend on the time and weather, it is available 24/7.

The project uses so-called enhanced geothermal systems (EGS). While traditional geothermal systems rely on the natural existence of steam or hot water trapped underground, EGS create their own pathways by injecting water into deep…