據(jù)鉆井地帶7月19日報(bào)道，位于休斯敦總部的地?zé)岢鮿?chuàng)公司Fervo Energy在周二的新聞發(fā)布會中表示，他們已成功完成一項(xiàng)井測試，以確認(rèn)利用石油和天然氣鉆探技術(shù)進(jìn)行地?zé)崮荛_發(fā)的商業(yè)可行性。

根據(jù)該發(fā)布的新聞，為期30天的井測試是地?zé)崮苄袠I(yè)的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)做法，并且在高溫條件下取得了每秒63升的流量，使得該系統(tǒng)能夠產(chǎn)生3.5兆瓦的電力，這不僅刷新了增強(qiáng)型地?zé)嵯到y(tǒng)的流量和功率輸出新高，還是首次在地?zé)崮荛_發(fā)領(lǐng)域?qū)崿F(xiàn)了利用油氣鉆探技術(shù)取得如此成果。此次測試是在Fervo Energy在內(nèi)華達(dá)北部進(jìn)行的名為“紅色項(xiàng)目”的全方位商業(yè)試點(diǎn)中完成的。

Fervo首席執(zhí)行官Tim Latimer表示：“通過應(yīng)用來自石油和天然氣行業(yè)的鉆井技術(shù)，我們已證明可以在全球新的地理位置生產(chǎn)7天24小時的全天候零碳能源資源。”他還說：“我們今天分享的令人難以置信的結(jié)果是Fervo員工和行業(yè)合作伙伴，特別是Google多年來專注工作和承諾的成果。”

根據(jù)新聞發(fā)布會所言，F(xiàn)ervo和Google在2021年簽署了全球首份企業(yè)協(xié)議，旨在開發(fā)下一代地?zé)崮茉矗繕?biāo)是為Google在拉斯維加斯的云服務(wù)區(qū)提供全天候零碳資源，以減少公司對化石燃料的時間依賴。

Fervo表示，“我們是首家成功鉆探商業(yè)地?zé)岙a(chǎn)能水平井的公司，實(shí)現(xiàn)了3250英尺的橫向長度，達(dá)到191攝氏度的溫度，并通過嚴(yán)格的示蹤試驗(yàn)證明了可控流量，同時在項(xiàng)目完成過程中沒有發(fā)生任何事故”。

Fervo表示，通過試點(diǎn)過程中收集的數(shù)據(jù)將“推動地?zé)崮艿目焖俨渴稹薄９居?jì)劃下一口水平井的功率輸出將超過試點(diǎn)設(shè)計(jì)的兩倍。

Google能源與氣候高級總監(jiān)Michael Terrell表示：“實(shí)現(xiàn)我們?nèi)旌蚴褂昧闾寄茉吹哪繕?biāo)需要新的穩(wěn)定清潔電源來補(bǔ)充風(fēng)能和太陽能等間歇性可再生能源。”他還說：“我們于2021年與Fervo合作，因?yàn)槲覀兛吹剿麄兊牡責(zé)峒夹g(shù)在大規(guī)模解鎖關(guān)鍵的全時零碳能源方面具有重要潛力，我們對Fervo達(dá)到這一重要技術(shù)里程碑感到非常高興。”

Fervo表示，試點(diǎn)結(jié)果支持美國能源部（DOE）的增強(qiáng)型地?zé)酔arthshot計(jì)劃的發(fā)現(xiàn)。增強(qiáng)型地?zé)酔arthshot計(jì)劃旨在通過將其成本降低90%，到2035年將地?zé)崮軆r(jià)格降至每兆瓦時445美元。Fervo補(bǔ)充說，地?zé)崮芸蔀槊绹峁┏^20%的電力需求，并與風(fēng)能和太陽能相輔相成，實(shí)現(xiàn)完全脫碳的電網(wǎng)。

普林斯頓大學(xué)的助理教授兼“零碳能源系統(tǒng)研究與優(yōu)化（ZERO）實(shí)驗(yàn)室”負(fù)責(zé)人Jesse Jenkins在新聞發(fā)布會中表示：“電力系統(tǒng)建模證實(shí)地?zé)崮芸梢栽谕耆撎嫉碾娋W(wǎng)中發(fā)揮重要作用。Fervo成功的商業(yè)試點(diǎn)將把下一代地?zé)峒夹g(shù)從理論應(yīng)用轉(zhuǎn)化為實(shí)際應(yīng)用，為開發(fā)地?zé)岬娜繚摿Φ於ɑA(chǔ)。”

同樣，德文能源也是Fervo的投資者，早在今年4月就已投資了1000萬美元。2021年，F(xiàn)ervo是美國能源部（DOE）選定的17個項(xiàng)目之一，共獲得4600萬美元的資金支持，符合其在猶他大學(xué)進(jìn)行的地?zé)崮苎芯壳把赜^測計(jì)劃。

胡耀東 譯自 鉆井地帶

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.