Largest active volcano in the Northwest will power homes in ‘a new era of energy,’ CEO says
Drilling is underway into the largest active volcano in Oregon as part of an effort to create a cleaner energy source.
Engineers are building a geothermal power plant that harnesses the energy of Newberry Volcano, the largest volcano in the Cascades volcanic arc.
In 2026, the Texas-based startup Mazama energy plans to start selling that geothermal energy to nearby homes and businesses, but the power won’t be available until next year.
“Mazama Energy is on track to deliver affordable, clean energy to local homes and businesses in Oregon by the end of 2027, thanks to our pioneering efforts in tapping a virtually limitless geothermal resource,” Sriram VasantharajanCEO of Mazama Energy, says Realtor.com®.
“Our pilot project in Newberry sets a new industry standard for enhanced geothermal systems, and the Mazama team is excited to help bring reliable, cost-effective clean energy to the community.”
Growing demand for power
As data centers and AI workloads proliferate, the world faces unprecedented demand for high-density, continuous power.
“The AI boom is driving electricity demand through the roof,” Andreas Meijer, head of data at Arbor, tells Realtor.com. “We are entering the steepest growth curve for electricity since World War II.”
To meet that demand, says Vasantharajan Newberry Pilot “provides a blueprint for globally unlocking baseload, utility-scale, carbon-free energy from the Earth’s crust, which is what the next generation of AI and cloud infrastructure requires.”
Currently, geothermal energy produces less than 1% of the world’s electricity, but according to the International Energy Agencythat share could rise to 8% by 2050.
How it works
The Newberry project uses hotter rock – reaching 629 degrees – than any previous enhanced geothermal effort, with Mazama Energy drilling nearly 2 miles (3.2 km) into the Earth and injecting water into a man-made hot rock reservoir.
As the water flows downward, it absorbs intense geothermal heat and then returns to the surface as steam to power a turbine and generate electricity.
The steam is then cooled, condensed back into water and injected again underground, allowing the closed loop system to operate continuously.
What the future brings
Mazama Energy wants to become the first company to make electricity from super-hot rock of 705 degrees or higher.
That’s when water enters a “supercritical” state, where it behaves like a liquid-gas hybrid, storing heat efficiently while flowing easily, making it ideal for generating electricity.
Economic models from the Clean Air Task Force suggests that super-hot geothermal energy could eventually be priced at the same level as natural gas or solar energy, while avoiding fossil fuel pollution.
“Super-hot geothermal is on track to match or undercut the price of natural gas and solar energy, while offering a unique advantage: reliable, 24-hour clean energy with a footprint much smaller than solar,” Vasantharajan tells Realtor.com.
“As this technology becomes more scalable, it is emerging as one of the most cost-efficient and reliable baseload energy sources available, and Mazama is leading the way in demonstrating its full potential when it is needed most.”
Mazama Energy reports that a single well harnesses volcanic heat could generate enough electricity for 25,000 households while using approximately 75% less water than traditional geothermal activities.
“Super-hot geothermal energy in rocks ushers in a new energy era: one in which truly clean, reliable and cost-stable energy is available day and night, almost anywhere in the world,” says Vasantharajan.
“As innovation continues, this technology promises to reduce our carbon footprint while replacing energy poverty with sustainable security for generations to come.”
