Houston-based Sage Geosystems plans to locate its 3-megawatt geopressured geothermal system energy storage facility in Christine, Texas, having reached a land use agreement with San Miguel Electric Cooperative Inc. (SMECI).

The company said it is targeting 6- to-10-hour storage durations. The energy storage system will be paired with renewable energy to provide baseload and dispatchable power to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) grid. Sage said the first-of-its-kind project, which is expected to launch later in 2024, will use Sage’s proprietary technology called EarthStore to store energy.

“Once operational, our EarthStore facility in Christine will be the first geothermal energy storage system to store potential energy deep in the earth and supply electrons to a power grid,” said Sage Geosystems Cindy Taff. “Geothermal energy storage is a viable solution for long-duration storage and an alternative for short-duration lithium-ion batteries. Electric utilities and co-ops like SMECI, will be able to use our technology to complement wind and solar, and stabilize the grid.”

The site will be located near SMECI’s lignite coal power plant in Christine, which is south of San Antonio, Texas. Sage said it will operate as a merchant, buying and selling electricity to ERCOT.

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