There could be 1,000 times more geothermal energy untapped beneath the United States than is currently being produced.

Central Oregon’s geothermal potential is particularly high, according to a color-coded map produced in a new study funded by Google. The Internet giant is helping fund geothermal research, including the development of new technologies at the Newberry National Volcanic Monument south of Bend, as part of its efforts to grow green power production, said Parag Chokshi, a Google spokesman.

“As the map showed, there is a lot of potential to develop geothermal in the U.S.,” he said.

The study, produced by scientists at Southern Methodist University using a $489,521 grant from Google’s philanthropic wing, concludes there are almost 3 million megawatts of potential geothermal energy waiting to be developed. Currently, geothermal energy produces 2,800 megawatts in the U.S., or enough to power 2.8 million homes.

The geothermal energy that’s already online is mostly the easy-to-access hydrothermal energy that’s found on the surface, such as geysers providing hot water or steam to turn turbines, said Fred Mayes, a senior technical analyst with the U.S. Energy Information Administration who specializes in renewable energy. The unharnessed potential energy discussed in the Google study consists almost exclusively of hot rocks often found thousands of feet underground, he said.

And it is going to require extensive research and money to develop the technology necessary to get water to the underground heat source.

“We have to learn to fracture rock so we can get at it,” he said.

Exploring, experimenting in Central Oregon

Some of the research is under way in Central Oregon, on the broad slopes of the Newberry volcano. There, AltaRock Energy Inc., is installing an array of seismometers to be used in an enhanced geothermal systems demonstration.

The Seattle-based company plans to pour cool groundwater down a 10,600-foot well northwest of La Pine next summer in an effort to widen fractures in 600-degree rock, said Will Osborn, project manager for AltaRock. By increasing the size of the fractures already found in the hot rock, the company will create underground reservoirs that it then plans to tap for steam.

The seismometers will map this reservoir by detecting the slight shaking of the Earth caused by the water widening the cracks. (More on this in the accompanying story on A1.)

If the experiment, the first of its kind in America, proves to be a viable way to create a geothermal power source, then much of Central Oregon could be ripe for geothermal projects.

On the Google study map, Central Oregon is a deep red, indicating a bed of hot rock deep below the surface.

“The whole Cascade Range sticks right out,” Osborn said.

But don’t expect to see a line of power plants along the mountains any time soon. In Switzerland, geothermal fracturing efforts led to a minor earthquake a couple of years ago, causing the entire industry to realize it needed to proceed more carefully.

“Is the potential there? Yes. Are we going to be able to do it within the next 20 years? Probably not,” Mayes said.

For its experiment, AltaRock has compiled a 69-page report detailing how it would respond to earthquakes that could be felt away from the volcano. The plan is to stop pouring water down the well if doing so causes a magnitude-3.5 earthquake or greater.

Listening for hot water

AltaRock isn’t the only company investigating Newberry’s geothermal possibilities. Davenport Newberry of Stamford, Conn., a partner with AltaRock in the enhanced geothermal system, is also drilling into the volcano in a search for natural hot water.

The company is testing the use of devices calibrated to detect the subtle sound waves emitted by moving water deep below the volcano to home in on potential geothermal power sources, said Brian Johnston, president of WYO Consulting Group, which is doing the drilling for Davenport Newberry.

“This is kind of a science project for us right now,” he said.

Like AltaRock, Davenport Newberry isn’t aiming to build power plants soon. Rather, it’s refining techniques for the industry.

While gas and oil drilling have developed methods of quickly finding and extracting what is underground, companies are experimenting with how best to turn geothermal potential into power production.

These experiments take time and money.

The AltaRock project is costing $44 million, with half the tab being paid by federal economic stimulus funds from the U.S. Department of Energy, Osborn said. The Davenport Newberry project is costing $5 million, with $4 million coming from the department.

Unlike other forms of renewable energy, such as solar and wind, geothermal is baseload power, meaning it is available 24 hours a day. That makes it a valuable power source to build as the country attempts to move away from its reliance on fossil fuels, said Doug Perry, president of Davenport Newberry.

“You don’t have to wait for the wind to blow or the sun to shine,” he said.

Growing geothermal

The Energy Information Administration projects that geothermal energy production will triple in the next 25 years, from 15.21 billion kilowatt hours in 2009 to 24.68 billion in 2020 to 49.19 billion in 2035.

Along with the study, Google invested $6.25 million in AltaRock Energy in 2008. Additionally, it gave Potter Drilling $4 million to develop a new drilling technique called hydrothermal spallation, which uses extremely hot water instead of a metal drill bit (which needs to be switched out every few feet) to cut through rock.

Over the last couple of years Google has put $850 million into renewable energy projects, such as geothermal, solar and wind projects, said Chokshi, the Google spokesman. The company has $10 million specifically invested in geothermal, between AltaRock, Potter Drilling and Southern Methodist University.

“We do think there are strong financial returns with these investments,” he said.

The fact that Google chose to make strategic, multimillion-dollar investments in the geothermal industry changes the playing field, said Stephen Lacey, who follows renewable energy issues for Climate Progress, an affiliate of the Center for American Progress. Usually, technology companies are looking for a product or idea that can have an immediate impact.

“This is a very capital-intensive, long-term bet,” he said. “These (investments) are going to take a while to come to fruition, and we’re going to need a lot more capital to break this open. … It helps to have a name like Google moving into this industry, which, quite honestly, isn’t very sexy at all.”

Tapping the deep heat sources of enhanced geothermal systems, he said, faces numerous challenges, though.

Roughly 40 percent of a company’s cost comes from exploration and development of the resource, he said. Additionally, with gas and oil prices remaining high, it can be expensive to even get rigs to drill because so many are being used in fossil-fuel extraction, he said.

“(Geothermal) companies have been developing projects, but the pace has been slow,” Lacey said. “Now, with this new map, people are getting excited about it.”