A schematic of Sage Geosystems' technology for an advanced geothermal well using a critical CO2 turbine.

A schematic of the Sage Geosystems technology used for energy storage.

Three oil patch veterans came up with an interesting idea: Why not drill wells, frack the rock below and inject it full of water, but instead of producing oil or natural gas, store the energy in a way that can deliver 17 hours of electricity for 600 homes from a turbine small enough to sit on a desk.

Sage Geosystem’s first-of-its-kind project, nestled in the scrub brush south of San Antonio between a coal-fired power plant and oil well pump jacks near Christine, will begin supplying electricity when it’s connected to the Texas grid in December. The system might be the only politically correct form of clean energy under the current administration, since it employs oil and gas workers and shows enormous potential for around-the-clock power generation.

Geologic energy storage employs oil and gas workers, uses oil and gas equipment and can generate electricity for much longer periods than battery storage. Fracking creates cracks in the elastic rock, which expand when water is injected during the hours when wholesale electricity is cheap.

Advertisement

Article continues below this ad

“We use lungs as an analogy,” Sage CEO Cindy Taff told me Aug. 21 as we drove to

© Houston Chronicle