AltaRock Energy

AltaRock Energy Inc., headquartered in Seattle, Washington and having a technology development office in Sausalito, California, is a privately held corporation that focuses on the development of geothermal energy resources and Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS). AltaRock has filed patent applications and holds exclusive licenses for related intellectual property related to EGS. In 2008, it started its first project near The Geysers to demonstrate the ability of EGS to be a reliable, renewable and clean source for the production of electric power.

AltRock’s efforts to expand EGS technologies are supported by a 2006 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) report that concluded EGS has the potential to provide 100 GWe (gigawatts of electricity) or more for the U.S. by 2050.

Co-founded in 2007 by Andrew Perlman, Susan Petty, and other business partners, AltaRock has received backing from investors such as Google.org, Advanced Technology Ventures , and Vulcan Capital, as well as demonstration grant funding from the United States Department of Energy (DOE).

The company currently has a demonstration project underway about 30 miles south of Bend, Oregon in the Deschutes National Forest. The Newberry EGS Demonstration is located on an existing Federal lease designated for geothermal use and is supported by a committee that includes representatives of the community, environmental groups, government and the geothermal industry. AltaRock’s Newberry EGS Demonstration will create an EGS reservoir in the high-temperature, low-permeability resource present on the northwest flank of the Newberry Volcano. The Demonstration will use hydraulic shearing (as opposed to hydraulic fracturing) and other stimulation techniques to induce and sustain fluid flow and geothermal heat extraction, culminating in the conceptual design of a commercial-scale well field and power plant. Water usage and induced seismicity analyses for the demonstration site have been completed and conclude the project poses little risk to the area or local communities.

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