The contract awards Sage Geosystems a grant of $1.9 million and the company will match the grant with an additional $1.9 million for the demonstration project. Sage will construct the system at an off-site test well in Starr County, Texas, in 2025. It would be the first GGS facility in the world to generate electricity.
Unlike traditional geothermal techniques that rely on rare geological formations of hot water and steam that limit their use, GGS repurposes cutting-edge fracking technology to extract thermal energy from miles below the Earth’s surface. The possibility of a full-scale project at Ellington Field Joint Air Reserve Base in Houston, could usher in a new era of clean power producing plants that meet the entire energy needs of installations in the DAF.
“This initial contract is a step forward in the Air Force’s push for energy resilience,” said Kirk Phillips, Director of the Air Force Office of Energy Assurance. “This project will improve Ellington Field’s ability to maintain operations during electrical grid outages and be completely self-sufficient for their energy needs.
"This project, and the future Department of the Air Force projects that it paves the way for, will help to assure that our national security needs are met by our installations during critical emergencies.”
This is one of three geothermal pilot projects the DAF has initiated this year to prove the capabilities of next-generation geothermal technologies, with more sites already being considered.
“We would build geothermal energy power plants at every Air Force installation if we could,” Phillips said. “Geothermal power is renewable, it is secure, it is reliable, it is cost effective and the systems to produce power from heat are well-understood.”
”We are excited to partner with the U.S. Air Force on this geothermal demonstration project,” said Cindy Taff, CEO of Sage Geosystems. “Next generation geothermal technologies, like Sage Geosystems’ GGS, will be critical in providing energy resiliency at U.S. military installations.”
GGS repurposes cutting-edge fracking technology from the oil and gas industry to extract thermal energy from miles below the Earth’s surface. GGS also demonstrates enormous potential for the civilian sector by overcoming the intermittency challenges for solar and wind energy generation as well as minimizing land use, enabling the technology to be sited in many urban areas without relying on expensive transmission line buildout.
“The wing is very excited to execute the first GGS in the Air Force. To become 100 percent resilient and carbon free is an amazing feat. For the 147th Attack Wing to be the baseline for Sage Geosystems to showcase this amazing technology to the DoD, makes us proud. It has been a pleasure working with Sage and their design team, we feel this is the launch pad of helping not only the DoD but many other applications throughout global markets,” said Lt Col Christian Campbell, 147th Civil Engineer Squadron Commander.
