Late last week Chevron and Baseload Capital announced a new joint venture to explore geothermal development opportunities in the United States. The companies will collaborate on driving geothermal opportunities – including identifying the best options for development, operations and progressing the next generation of geothermal technologies from pilot to commercial scale.
The first project identified by the joint venture will be developed in Nevada’s Esmeralda County. Currently, the majority of Nevada’s geothermal electrical generation plants are located in the northern portion of the state. This new project shows the potential for geothermal projects throughout the state.
“We are pleased to be partnering with Baseload Capital on this joint venture and believe we are in a prime position to lead in the geothermal space where we will lean on our experience and technical strengths. We believe that to make the geothermal ecosystem a reality, we must take these important steps through collaboration and partnership, and this example with Baseload Capital is a great start towards pursuing our lower carbon goals for the future,” said Barbara Harrison, Vice President, Offsets and Emerging, at Chevron New Energies.
“It is time for the geothermal industry to take its place as an obvious part of the energy mix. Geothermal should be the new normal, becoming as standard to the energy mix as GORE-TEX is for outdoor clothes. Right now, everything is in the industry’s favor to move from niche to mainstream. We have no time to waste and no excuse for not picking up the pace here and now. Together with Chevron we believe that the transition to a greener planet, with the help of geothermal, is going to be much faster,” said Alexander Helling, CEO at Baseload Capital.
Nevada currently ranks second in the country for geothermal electrical energy production. Nevada’s geothermal plants can currently generate up to 827 MW of power in any given hour. Nevada has 26 plants in 17 different locations.
This latest announcement shows the strong interest in Nevada geothermal resources which could translate into new jobs and significant rural economic development.