Geothermal Surges, AI Powers the Grid & EVs Boom

The clean energy transition is accelerating across multiple fronts, with groundbreaking developments reshaping how we generate, store, and manage electricity. Geothermal energy takes center stage as Fervo Energy secures a 15-year agreement with Shell for 31 megawatts from their Utah project, enabling expansion to 500 megawatts without additional drilling through advanced well design and fiber optic sensing technologies. Meanwhile, Google's investment in Taiwan's geothermal sector promises to double the country's output, highlighting growing interest in this reliable renewable resource.

Wind energy continues its technological evolution with Siemens Gamesa completing work on a massive 21.5 megawatt prototype offshore turbine in Denmark – currently the world's most powerful – though Chinese manufacturers are racing to develop even larger 25 megawatt machines. However, political challenges loom as the Trump administration halts construction of Equinor's fully permitted Empire Wind project off New York, raising questions about regulatory certainty for the offshore wind industry despite years of environmental review.

Electrification and storage solutions show remarkable momentum. Porsche reports that over 38% of its vehicles now have a plug, with pure EVs accounting for 26% of deliveries. Texas-based Base Power secured $200 million to expand its innovative home battery business, offering systems up to four times larger than typical residential storage. On the grid integration front, Google's AI subsidiary Tapestry is partnering with PGM to revolutionize the painfully slow interconnection process with artificial intelligence, potentially slashing wait times for renewable projects from years to months.

From small modular nuclear reactors gaining construction approval in Canada to battery swapping networks expanding in China, these developments collectively paint a picture of an energy landscape in rapid transformation. Subscribe to stay informed about these crucial developments shaping our clean energy future.

Support the show

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
I've got your energy stories for this.
The third week of October 2025.
And in the first one, advancedgeothermal company Fervo Energy
inked a 15-year power purchaseagreement PPA with Shell Energy
North America for 31 megawattsof geothermal power from Fervo's
Cape Station geothermal projectin Utah.
The deal will help Vervo expandthe project's capacity from 400

(00:26):
to 500 megawatts, which it willdo without drilling any
additional wells.
The expansion is facilitated byVervo's advancements in well
design and field development,including increasing the
diameter of pipes and optimizedwell spacing enabled by fiber
optic sensing.
Shell Energy will be the firstofftaker from phase one of this,
the world's biggest enhancedgeothermal systems development

(00:48):
set for commissioning in 2026with its 500 megawatts of
capacity now fully contracted.
While also in the state of Utah, the US Bureau of Land
Management ran a competitivegeothermal lease sale there,
nettingting over $5.6 million inbids from four companies
covering 14 parcels totaling50,961 acres.

(01:10):
Surprisingly, fervo wasn't oneof them.
Meanwhile, google and BaseloadCapital have signed a
10-megawatt PPA for geothermalenergy in Taiwan.
In addition to the powercontract, google will directly
invest in baseload capital withthe goal of accelerating the
development of more geothermalenergy in the region.
The 10 megawatts will doubleTaiwan's existing geothermal

(01:31):
output.
This isn't the same enhanceddeep rock work that Vervo is
doing in Utah, but rathershallower wells in the Pacific
Ring of Fire.
Siemens Gamesa heraldedcompleted work on a 21.5
megawatt prototype offshoreturbine at the Osterreel test
facility in northern Denmark.
This is the world's mostpowerful wind turbine for now,

(01:52):
but three Chinese companies arein the race to develop 25
megawatt machines, with Goldwindsaying last December that it
was producing a 22 megawattmodel that could generate up to
25 megawatts.
But all is not well in the landof big turbines.
The Trump administration'sdecision to halt construction of
Equinor's 54-turbine15-megawatt machines

(02:13):
810-megawatt Empire Wind 1project off New York's coast on
April 16th is raising concernsthat even fully permitted
developments representingbillions of investment are now
in peril.
President Trump's InteriorSecretary, doug Burgum, ordered
Equinor to stop work, suggestingthe project's underlying
environmental analysis wasfaulty and rushed, bloomberg

(02:37):
notes.
However, in the analysis theenvironmental review process
lasted almost 46 and a halfmonths between submission of the
construction operations plansand the Department of Interior
issuing approval.
The average for 11 federallyapproved projects stands at 41
and a half months, so Equinortook some more time here.
The company says it will pursuelegal remedies and meanwhile

(02:57):
another three projects offshoreare in late stages of
construction off Rhode Island,new York and Virginia, all
expected to deliver power nextyear.
Porsche's electric vehiclelineup had a solid first quarter
.
Of the 71,470 cars delivered,38.5% had a plug, with 26% being
all electric.

(03:18):
North America continues to bePorsche's largest market with
almost 21,000 vehicles sold up,31% year over year.
Of course, now that we all livein tariff land at least for now
those numbers are likely tochange.
Also, in EVs, battery swappingis a big deal, at least in China
.
According to Reuters, chinesebattery giant Kethel is seeking

(03:41):
to buy a controlling stake in EVmaker Nio's power unit, and
Cathal is seeking to buy acontrolling stake in EV maker
NIO's power unit with its3,000-plus battery swapping
stations in China.
While NIO didn't directlyanswer queries about the deal,
it did comment that it waspromoting joint construction of
battery swapping stations withmultiple investors, including

(04:02):
Cathal.
Texas startup Base Power, acompany that installs oversized
home batteries at low prices andoften under a subscription
service, raised an additional$200 million in a Series B round
.
That influx of cash willsupport market growth in Texas,
as well as the construction of anew factory for its battery
systems.
Base offers 25 and up to 50kilowatt-hour battery systems in
Texas to homeowners for backuppower, with the customer paying

(04:25):
several hundred dollars up frontas part of a three-year
commitment.
In exchange, the customers mustagree to buy electricity from
BASE and permit the company todispatch the batteries and sell
services to ERCOT.
Base projects to have installed100 megawatts by mid-summer of
this year.
To put those battery sizes inperspective, a Tesla Powerwall

(04:53):
unit is sized at 13.5 kWh, whilethe average US home uses about
30 kWh of power daily.
So these base batteries arepretty big.
Smaller Nukes took another stepforward with the Canadian
Nuclear Safety Commissionissuing a Power Reaction
Constructor License to OntarioPower Generation Inc to build a
General Electric HitachiBWRX-300 small modular reactor

(05:14):
at its Darlington New NuclearProject site in Ontario.
Ge Phenova's website indicatesconstruction of a new unit will
take two to three years, and OPGhas previously stated that it
expects construction on thefirst reactor to be done by 2028
, with additional reactorsentering service between 2034
and 2036.

(05:34):
Google's subsidiary Tapestry ispartnering with PGM to develop
AI-powered tools to streamlineand accelerate the
interconnection process anundertaking, now that takes
several years.
Pgm is develop AI-powered toolsto streamline and accelerate
the interconnection process anundertaking, now, that takes
several years.
Pgm is in a tough spot, withrapidly growing load and
expected supply retirementsrepresenting up to 20% of its
current supply capacity.
Meanwhile, thousands of assetsrepresenting 200 gigawatts of

(05:56):
supply, mostly renewableslanguish in the interconnection
queue for about two years.
These days, taps3 would managethe queue the first time it has
done so in the US buildingvarious models, including
transmission flow models,developing estimates of costs
related to necessarytransmission reinforcements and
developing schedules.
It would also analyze allapplicant PDFs and automate the

(06:20):
timely and error-prone dataverification process.
Perhaps more vitally, it willintegrate dozens of PGM's
databases and tools to create asingle model of PGM's
transmission network.
Tapestry has already been usedin Chile to develop and pilot a
planning tool for the nation'stransmission grid.
The pilot began in Chile in2021 and aids grid operators in

(06:41):
simulating their grid 86% fasterthan it used to be.
This year, the Chileans willfully integrate the tool into
their control room and processes.
Well, thanks for watching andwe'll see you again soon.