Presented by ExxonMobil
Corporate America loves talking a big game on climate. But actually cutting emissions? That’s hard.
Many companies have gone on a renewable binge in recent years, buying massive amounts of wind and solar as part of an attempt to green their electricity supplies.
The only problem? Data centers and factories consume electrons around the clock while renewables generate power only some of the time.
Which is why there was so much fanfare in energy circles last week when Google announced the opening of an advanced geothermal project in Nevada.
The Google-supported project is only a pilot capable of generating a small amount of electricity. But by using a new method involving fracking and horizontal drilling, it could expand the pool of potential geothermal opportunities beyond natural underground hot water reservoirs.
That could supercharge the growth of geothermal and help fill gaps in wind and solar generation with emissions-free power.
“We’re hitting a high level of renewable energy and so we’re starting to recognize the limitations of this approach,” Maud Texier, Google’s head of clean energy and carbon development, told E&E News for a story published today. “Our business is relying on our capability of finding electrons, electrons that are running 24/7 and electrons that need to be clean — not just for us, but from the license to operate perspective.”
The project is an outgrowth of an initiative Google launched in 2020 to power its operations around the clock with clean energy. It partnered with Fervo Energy, a Houston-based startup that uses techniques honed by the oil and gas industry to extract heat from the Earth to make electricity.
As with any technology, there are limits to what geothermal can provide. The technology’s application in the U.S. is likely concentrated in the western parts of the country. Still, there is a lot of room for growth: Today, less than half a percent of U.S. power generation comes from geothermal energy.
Analysts said the partnership between Google and Fervo is a sign of where clean energy investment is likely headed, with increased focus on technologies that can complement wind and solar.
“What will be a clear trend is growth in dispatched renewables. It could be batteries, hydrogen, geothermal,” said Timothy Lieuwen, executive director of the Strategic Energy Institute at the Georgia Institute for Technology. “What looks good for Reno, Nevada, is going to look different from Atlanta, Georgia.”
It’s Tuesday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO’s Power Switch. I’m your host, Benjamin Storrow. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to [email protected].
Today in POLITICO Energy’s podcast: Alex Guillén breaks down the details of the Biden administration’s sweeping new rule to cut methane emissions from the U.S. oil and gas industry.
COP Corner
Kerry responds: U.S. climate envoy John Kerry is standing by Sultan al-Jaber after the COP28 president faced criticism this week over remarks that “no science” supports a phaseout of fossil fuels in response to climate change. “Look, he’s gotta decide how he wants to phrase it, but the bottom line is this COP needs to be committed to phasing out all unabated fossil fuel,” Kerry told POLITICO’s Power Play podcast with Anne McElvoy.
Al-Jaber’s comments dredged up concerns among climate activists that his job as CEO of the United Arab Emirates’ state-owned oil company conflicts with the job of leading a United Nations climate summit meant to act on the root causes of rising global temperatures.
Kerry’s response in the interview with POLITICO (scheduled to air Thursday) said the conference in Dubai remains squarely aimed at achieving the most ambitious target of the Paris Agreement: to hold the temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Time to get busy: Delegates in Dubai for the United Nations summit are starting the hard work of determining exactly where the world stands eight years after signing the Paris Agreement, Zia Weise reports.
The U.N.'s “Global Stocktake” is a progress report on whether national emissions targets are in line with Paris goals. How countries decide to address shortcomings will help determine whether the world can stave off the worst impacts of climate change or careen toward unlivable temperatures.
Brazil rages: A battle is brewing as Brazil and China bring global trade issues into the U.N. climate talks, Zia writes in a second story from Dubai. Brazil is a vocal opponent of the European Union’s import tax on carbon-intensive goods. Efforts to usher trade onto the COP28 agenda reflect rising tensions about the use of trade measures to shape the green economy.
Power Centers
A Republican governor’s fraught fight with climate change
Can the nation’s top coal-producing state go “carbon negative?” That’s the goal of Republican Gov. Mark Gordon, who since 2021 has worked to put Wyoming on a path to removing more carbon dioxide from the air than it creates, writes Jason Plautz.
But as the plan has gained more attention and plaudits, state Republicans are fighting back. The Wyoming Republican Party issued a vote of no confidence in Gordon last month, calling his plans part of a “Socialist agenda.”
Chicken and egg, EV charging edition
The Biden administration included $7.5 billion in the bipartisan infrastructure law in 2021 to build out a network of electric vehicle charging stations. But despite authorizing over $2 billion for states, not a single charger is up and running yet, writes James Bikales.
The chargers are essential to both President Joe Biden’s climate goals and drivers who are waiting for more stations to come online before they feel comfortable purchasing an EV.
In Other News
Megadeal under microscope: The Federal Trade Commission is investigating Exxon Mobil’s plan to buy Pioneer Natural Resources for nearly $60 billion.
Moment of zen: The U.N. climate summit in Dubai has a Faith Pavilion that will host over 300 religious leaders for discussions on how to help people with the effects of climate change.
Subscriber Zone
A showcase of some of our best subscriber content.
Two small modular reactors aim to breathe new life into a shuttered nuclear power plant in Michigan.
The Biden administration threatened to veto a Republican bill that would block EPA’s rule targeting greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles.
That’s it for today, folks! Thanks for reading.
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