Colorado’s geothermal potential will soon be tested in a small town

PIERCE, Colo. — The sprawling solar farms and towering wind turbines across Colorado could soon give way to a new, more experimental form of green energy: geothermal power.

Geothermal energy is obtained by using hot water trapped in rocks deep below the Earth’s surface.

Many different technologies and approaches are being tested to see which will work best in Colorado. The state’s Energy Office plans to award $7.7 million in grants to companies and institutions that want to research and test geothermal technologies.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis calls it “the heat beneath our feet” and sees geothermal energy as so promising that last year he named it an initiative of the Western Governors’ Association. Colorado is one of five Western states that has 95 percent of the U.S.’s geothermal potential.

In announcing the new grants, Polis said, “A nation-leading effort to develop Colorado’s geothermal energy resources is essential to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, while also creating stable, good-paying jobs in communities undergoing a just transition and ensuring affordable, reliable access to clean energy for all Coloradans.”

But there are many things to determine.

Denver7 spoke with two companies — Gradient Geothermal and Geothermal Technologies — that will receive state grants to test different methods in the same small town in northeastern Colorado.

Drew Smith, Denver7

The city of Pierce is just one square mile wide. About 1,000 people live there, and Pierce Mayor Cathy Ortiz knows them all. That’s because when she’s not working with local government at Pierce City Hall, she’s talking to locals at the farmers market across the street, where she’s the manager.

“It’s a very small community and many of the members feel like family,” Ortiz said.

She said the marketplace helps her stay current with the city’s needs.

“This is where I talk to everyone. I’m here every day and I love it,” she said.

However, news of geothermal technology coming to the city has not yet spread.

“Probably nobody knows about it,” she said. Even as mayor, Ortiz only recently contacted a company representative who informed her of their plans.

Drew Smith, Denver7

“It’s nice that they chose Pierce,” she said. Currently, agriculture and oil and gas operations are the largest industries in town. But there aren’t many opportunities for income, and she hopes geothermal energy will create new jobs for residents who otherwise would drive out of Pierce for work.

“We’d love to see this happen and we think it would be great for the city,” she said. But she hopes Pierce residents will be kept up to date on the timeline and details of these projects.

“I would like to see more information and see where they are going,” she said.

Geothermal Technologies CEO Gary McDaniel said his projects are to explore the geothermal potential of a northern Colorado geologic formation known as the Denver-Julesburg Basin and then build a geothermal power plant in empty fields near Pierce.

“This technology will be a breakthrough in renewable energy and clean energy generation,” he said.

McDaniel is a chemical engineer who calls himself a “serial CEO” in clean tech. He has led companies focused on solar power, hydrogen fuel cells and clean air catalytic converters. But he said geothermal caught his attention.

“Clean energy needs a base load … that is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” he said. “Solar only works when the sun is shining, and wind only works when it is blowing.”

But geothermal energy is hot and ready to use all the time.

McDaniel also said a geothermal plant like the one his company has planned for Pierce would have little impact on the environment. After initial disruptions caused by his company’s drilling, he said there would be “no air emissions, no water emissions, no noise.”

Geothermal technology could also give new life to old, depleted oil and gas wells dotting Pierce, something Ortiz is eager to see. She and her son live right next to a defunct well.

“I think it’s great that they’re going to find a use instead of just being blanked out or not doing anything with them,” she said.

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Gradient Geothermal is a company that received a government grant to test reusing old wells.

“We see tremendous opportunity in Colorado because oil and gas drilling is so close to communities,” said Gradient Geothermal Chief Operating Officer Johanna Ostrum.

Ostrum previously worked as an oil and gas engineer. She now sees geothermal energy as a way to transition the state’s oil and gas industry toward a decarbonized future.

“Drilling, finding and extracting geothermal energy are essentially the same skill set, except you’re talking about hot water rather than oil or natural gas in the ground,” she said.

Gradient Geothermal is interested in Pierce because “wells that are no longer economic from an oil and gas perspective because they’re just not producing oil or gas are ideal for our application,” Ostrum said.

“These wells produce a lot of hot water using very little oil, and that hot water is perfect for generating geothermal energy,” she added.

Gradient geothermal

The company’s study “will determine whether the wells can produce energy and then what benefits we can provide to the community,” she added.

Because these wells “are located within the city, there is an opportunity to use the heat after generating electricity, potentially helping to heat a nearby school and sidewalks,” Ostrum said.

She said: “The way we harvest geothermal energy is very similar to using an air conditioner in reverse. We capture the heat energy that is generated from hot water.” The hot water heats a refrigerant, which turns into steam and spins a turbine. The spinning generates electricity.

“It’s a completely closed loop. There are no emissions from it,” she said.

The main difference between the projects proposed by Gradient Geothermal and Geothermal Technologies is how the hot water will be accessed. Gradient will use existing wells, while Geothermal will drill its own.

Both companies said their presence in the area would be small and that as their technology proves itself, there is potential to increase the available power and heat.

For Pierce residents like Ortiz, these experimental plans are exciting, as long as the needs of residents are taken into account.

“I love this city, I care about its residents and I want the best for the city,” she said.

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