The State of Geothermal Energy

­Google just signed a deal to purchase geothermal energy for its facilities in Taiwan, a first for several reasons. The move also catapults geothermal back into the mainstream discussion.

To be clear, geothermal is one of the world’s oldest energy sources, stretching back to Paleolithic times (3.3 million – 11,700 years ago), with prehistoric humans bathing in hot springs, and to the apex of Rome for space heating.

But it wasn’t until the 20th century that geothermal power became a viable option. And once the costs for generating geothermal power dropped considerably – as much as ¼ – in the ‘80s and ‘90s, its intrinsic advantages really became apparent.

Unlike wind and solar, geothermal energy is extraordinarily consistent, available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year regardless of the weather. Along the same lines, geothermal power plants have a “high-capacity factor” (90% or higher), so they’re nearly always operating at max capacity.

And as the Department of Energy points out, one of geothermal’s potential downsides has turned into a figurative gold mine – some of the plants produce solid materials that require proper disposal, but we’ve also begun extracting zinc, silica, sulfur, and even lithium from certain locations.

Lithium has become indispensable in our modern, electrified world, so landing a consistent, domestic source – and not having to rely so heavily on China for its extraction – would benefit us exponentially.

Of course, geothermal energy does have its downsides – while its operating costs are roughly in-line with onshore wind and photovoltaic energy ($.05-.10/kWh), geothermal requires high upfront costs, and though it’s an exceptionally consistent energy source, it’s simultaneously location-specific, only accessible in certain areas.

In the case of Google, specifically, their deals marks the first geothermal power purchase agreement for Taiwan, and the tech giant has vowed to add 10 MW of clean energy to the grid by 2029 (doubling the country’s current commercial geothermal capacity).

Not coincidentally, this coincides nicely with Google’s own renewable ambitions, wherein they’ve promised to “achieve net-zero emissions across all of our operations and value chain by 2030,” reducing 50% of their combined Scope 1, 2 (market-based), and 3 absolute emissions (compared to their 2019 base year) by then, along with operating their offices and data centers on 24/7 carbon-free energy.

Google also hinted that this project could be the first of several for the area.

“Through this long-term partnership with Baseload, we aim to unlock geothermal potential, driving the clean energy development,” said Michael Terrell, senior director of clean energy and carbon reduction at Google.

“We hope this first corporate agreement for geothermal in Taiwan will help to scale corporate procurement for geothermal projects across the region and worldwide.”