Earths Energy Limited (ASX: EE1) (Earths Energy or Company) advises it has commenced an internal scoping study (Study) to explore the potential development of geothermally powered data centres at the Company's strategically located Queensland project. This initiative aligns with the Company's strategy to leverage innovative commercialisation opportunities for its geothermal projects.
HIGHLIGHTS
- The Company has commenced a Study of its Queensland projects suitability for the development of geothermally powered data centres
- Earths Energy's Queensland tenure near Brisbane and Gold Coast enhances the commercial attractiveness for data centre operations
- Geothermal powered data centres are currently being developed by Google, Microsoft and Meta
- Incorporating geothermal power into data centres may include:
- Centres powered directly (and primarily) from geothermal electricity production
- Direct use geothermal applications to supplement a data centre's reliance on an electricity grid
- Geothermal cooling through vapour absorption chillers1 may potentially offer significant cost reductions and environmental benefits to data centre cooling
- Data centre power is estimated to represent 20% to 38% of a data centre's operational expense2
- Direct use geothermal can lower carbon emissions, reduce reliance on external electricity sources, and improve overall feasibility
- The Company has identified areas of interest within its Queensland project and will develop and trial its own multi factor model for assessing the feasibility of geothermal powered data centre development
- Industry experts in both geothermal development and data centre development will assist the Company in the Study
Josh Puckridge, Earths Energy CEO, commented:
"Incorporating geothermal energy sources into data centre designs and operations has become popular with global leaders like Google, Microsoft and Meta who are each developing large scale new data centres incorporating geothermal energy. Geothermal power sources offer the potential for reliable 24/7 baseload power to data centres regardless of the status of the local grid. This power independence provided by geothermal resources is an important aspect of data centres achieving data sovereignty, a significant strategic priority in developing modern data centres. The data centre market itself has also never been more buoyant - evident by Blackstone's $24 billion purchase of Airtrunk and NextDC's $750 million raising to continue expansion plans throughout Asia."
EE1 COMMENCES DATA CENTRE STUDY TO LEVERAGE QUEENSLAND
Earths Energy is embarking on a scoping study to assess the viability of constructing geothermally powered data centres at its strategically located Queensland projects. This study aims to capitalise on the unique geothermal resources available at these sites, combined with proximity to major population centres, to support the growing demand for sustainable and cost-effective data centre infrastructure.
The data centre industry is experiencing rapid growth, driven by increasing global data demands and the proliferation of digital services. However, traditional data centres face significant challenges, particularly in managing operational expenses associated with cooling systems, which account for a substantial portion of energy consumption.
Leading global IT companies Google3, Microsoft4 and Meta5 are developing new data centres that incorporate geothermal energy, leveraging the benefits of geothermal energy including being a renewable energy source that can provide 24/7 baseload power.
The Company believes that its geothermal wells in Queensland could provide a compelling opportunity to address these challenges by leveraging direct geothermal energy to cool data centres efficiently. Unlike conventional cooling methods that rely on electricity, geothermal cooling uses the Earth's stable temperatures to maintain ideal conditions for servers, reducing both energy consumption and costs.
