Tim Latimer on Solving the Financing Problem for Geothermal
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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Hello and welcome to another episode of the Oddlots podcast. I'm Jill Weisenthal.
And I'm Tracy Alloway.
Tracy, we were recently down in Washington, DC.
I know. I really like DC. It has a sort of like old school vibe. Yeah.
Lots
of power lunches. I like it.
It seems like a good city for power lunches. It's also, did you know and not to sidetrack too much, like basically all the big fast casual innovation is from DC, as far as I could tell. So Sweet Green, I think was founded. Kava, we talked to one of their exact both of those companies are from DC. And it I'm not gonna lie, when I think of this sort of modal worker in DC, I think of someone who Who eats a lot of like fast casual lunches at their desk.
Uh yes. Okay. Which
is no judgment because that's what I how I eat my lunch. So I just wanna make that clear. There's not a judgment on anyone.
Right, but we are not actually here to talk about casual dining and take out lunches. We were in DC for a very particular event, something very special. We were over at the Department of Energy's Deploy Twenty Four conference.
That's right. So regular listeners will have heard we've done multiple episodes in the past with Jigger Shaw, who is the head of the loan programs office at the DOE. It was the LPO part of the DOE that put on this conference. And of course, the big theme that, you know, when you think about the loan programs office is this impulse to figure out a way to solve the financing problem for early stage energy, in which there's some sort of proven technology out there. there, but the funding ecosystem for various reasons, unfamiliarity, risk, et cetera, doesn't exist. And so a lot of the conversations are like, how do you solve that chicken and egg problem in energy finance?
Absolutely. And we do indeed have the perfect guest. We spoke with Tim Latimer, the CEO of Fervo Energy, which is that big geothermal startup that is doing some interesting things with fracking technology. So take a listen.
Hello and welcome to a uh live episode of the Oddlots Podcast. I'm Joe Weisenthal.
And I'm Tracy Alloway.
And we are joined here by uh Tim Latimer, co founder, CEO of Fervo Energy, Advanced Geothermal. What is that? And when we think about America's energy mix or America's energy portfolio, how big can uh advanced geothermal be?
Very big. That's the that's the short answer. So, first off, great to be with y'all. I'm a regular odd lots listener, so it's a treat to be with y'all. Geothermal, what is geothermal and what is advanced geothermal? It's a great question. So, geothermal isn't new, and even power generation from geothermal isn't new. The first power plant for geothermal came online actually over a hundred years ago in Italy. So it's been something that's been around for a long time, but historically, Even though it has really everything you want in an energy resource, it's carbon-free, low environmental footprint, it works 24-7. It's been very limited to very specific geology. So up until very recently, the story of geothermal is you either have the geology of Iceland, where steam is literally coming out of the ground or certain hot spots like Northern California or New Zealand, or you don't have geothermal.
And those were kind of the only two options. So those places blessed with it had A great energy resource, but it was certainly wasn't widespread. Advanced geothermal or enhanced geothermal systems is really the whole concept that you could use new technology to go to deeper resources or impermeable rock where the hot water or the steam wouldn't flow on its own and still make geothermal work.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–7:11
2
What is advanced geothermal and why is it important for clean energy?
7:11–19:44
3
How did Tim Latimer’s oil‑and‑gas drilling experience shape Fervo’s geothermal technology?
19:44–25:46
4
What technical challenges had to be solved to drill hotter, deeper wells for geothermal?
25:46–34:15
5
How did Fervo achieve its first operating geothermal project and prove the technology?
34:15–42:50
Speakers
6 identifiedMore from Odd Lots
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