Sage enters land use agreement to build first Geopressured Geothermal System

Pictured (left to right): Lev Ring, Sage; Tamás Csrefkó, Nabors; Cindy Taff, Sage; Siggi Meissner, Nabors. (source: Sage Geosystems)

Sage Geosystems Inc. (Sage) has entered into a land use agreement with San Miguel Electric Cooperative Inc. (SMECI) for Sage’s or the 3-MW Geopressured Geothermal System (GGS) energy storage facility. With this agreement, the 3-MW EarthStore system will located in Christine in Atascosa County, Texas near the SMECI lignite coal power plant. Sage will operate as a merchant, buying and selling electricity to the ERCOT grid.

Later this year, Sage will launch the EarthStore™ facility, the world’s first project to utilize the earth’s natural capacity for energy storage to produce clean, sustainable, and dispatchable electricity on demand. This technology offers a reliable and resilient power source that is independent of weather conditions and not reliant on wind or sunshine.

“Once operational, our EarthStore facility in Christine will be the first geothermal energy storage system to store potential energy deep in the earth and supply electrons to a power grid,” said Cindy Taff, CEO of Sage Geosystems. “Geothermal energy storage is a viable solution for long-duration storage and an alternative for short-duration lithium-ion batteries. Electric utilities and co-ops like SMECI, will be able to use our technology to complement wind and solar, and stabilize the grid.”

The facility will use Sage’s proprietary technology to store energy, targeting 6-to-10-hour storage durations and delivering a round-trip efficiency (RTE) of 70-75 percent. In addition, water losses are targeted to be less than 2 percent. At scale, this energy storage system will be paired with renewable energy to provide baseload and dispatchable power to the electric grid. When combined with solar power, Sage’s EarthStore facility enables 24/7 electricity generation at a blended Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) well under $0.10/kWh.

In late 2023, Sage announced the successful results of a full-scale commercial pilot of EarthStore in Starr County, Texas. Sage was able to demonstrate long-generation and load-following power generation with high efficiencies and minimal fluid loss in the subsurface. The results showed that the technology is cost-competitive with lithium-ion batteries, pumped storage hydropower, and natural gas peaker plants.

Earlier this year, Sage had also announced a successful raise of $17 million in Series A funding to fully fund the first-of-its-kind Geopressured Geothermal System.

Craig Courter, CEO, San Miguel Electric Cooperative, Inc. added, “Long-duration energy storage is crucial for the ERCOT utility grid, especially with the increasing integration of intermittent wind and solar power generation. We are excited to be part of this innovative project that showcases the potential of geothermal energy storage.”

Sage has applied for two drilling permits in Texas. The first permit is in Atascosa County for the EarthStore facility in Christine and the second permit is in Starr County, adjacent to the company’s existing test well.

Source: Email correspondence