ESMERALDA COUNTY, Nevada—Geothermal company Zanskar has privately raised $115 million to find and develop overlooked geothermal fields such as one in Nevada, concealed beneath an arid expanse of high desert.
The land doesn’t vent steam, emit fumaroles, or boast hot springs. In other words, it has none of the telltale signs that companies have typically relied on as they have scoured the West for heat to turn into electrons.
Zanskar, based in Salt Lake City, Utah, said it can bypass finding these signatures altogether and unlock hidden troves of concentrated energy, as well as squeeze out more from known fields, all thanks to artificial intelligence. For years, the company has been feeding field data collected by its geologists to a custom-built model that now reliably spits out prospects, including “Big Blind,” the Nevada field.
Co-founder Carl Hoiland said Big Blind is proof that the Western U.S. is rife with hidden heat that can produce gobs of power.