“Geothermal developer Mazama Energy announced it has created the world’s hottest enhanced geothermal system (EGS) at its pilot site in Oregon’s Newberry Volcano, reaching a bottomhole temperature of 629°F (331°C). The Frisco, Texas-based company said its latest milestone, achieved in late October, sets a new benchmark for geothermal development and advances its goal of generating electricity for less than $0.05/kWh.
Located in the Cascade Range, Newberry is one of the largest geothermal reservoirs in the US. Mazama mobilized a rig to the site in October 2024, converting a legacy well into a water injector and drilling a new deviated producer well to a total measured depth of 10,200 ft. The producer was placed within 6 ft of its planned trajectory, and circulation tests confirmed hydraulic connectivity between the wells. The project was funded in part by a $20-million grant awarded to Mazama last year by the US Department of Energy…
Mazama’s next step is to scale the technology to a 15-MW pilot project using horizontal wells, followed by a 200-MW commercial development at Newberry. Future wells are expected to target temperatures exceeding 750°F (400°C), which the company said could yield up to 10 times the power density while using 75% less water than current EGS methods.”
