Mazama Energy, which is based in Texas, has obtained over $135 million in new funding in order to progress its superhot rock geothermal projects at Oregon’s Newberry Volcano, with the aim of establishing a continuous supply of renewable electricity.
The investment, which is supported by some of the leading venture capital firms and oil companies, will be used to help finance Project Ceres, a horizontal geothermal well which Mazama states could produce 15 megawatts of electricity by 2027, a quantity sufficient to supply about 4,500 typical households.
Rather than like conventional geothermal projects which rely on naturally occurring hot water or steam reservoirs, Mazama is developing an enhanced geothermal system. The technology consists of drilling deep underground, injecting water into engineered hot-rock reservoirs and then bringing the heated water to the surface in the form of steam so that it can be used to generate electricity.
Mazama has already gone below ground to a depth of more than 10,000 feet, where the temperature reaches about 629 degrees Fahrenheit. For its next stage, Project Athena, drilling will be extended past 15,000 feet so as to reach hotter rock and may at the same time decrease the number of wells, the amount of land and the quantity of water needed for power generation.
The company is likewise attempting to cut down on drilling time and costs. Mazama stated that it finished its second 10,000-foot well about 80% faster than it had done with the first. Since drilling costs have gone above $100,000 each day, increasing efficiency may be important for the technology to become commercially competitive.
If the development is a success, Mazama aims to generate 50 megawatts by 2029 and as much as 200 megawatts by 2030. The company also states that Newberry has the potential to support much larger levels of continuous geothermal generation in the long term.
This investment occurs at a time when the development of geothermal energy is drawing increasing interest in the Pacific Northwest, a region that is seeing its electricity demand rise as a result of population growth, industrial activity, and the presence of large energy users like data centers. Moreover, local authorities believe that the projects have the potential to create skilled jobs and to help support new workforce training programs.
Source: Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB)
Author: Monica Samayoa
Original Link: https://www.opb.org/article/2026/09/22/texas-geothermal-company-gets-135-million-funding-boost/