Utah Forge project names new lead; outlines four-month circulation test and local outreach
March 17, 2026 | Milford, Beaver County, Utah
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Joe Moore, who said he is transitioning into retirement, introduced Dr. Christy McGlynn as the new project lead for Utah Forge and thanked Milford officials for years of local support. "This has been just an excellent project," Moore said, and he said he looks forward to turning the work over to McGlynn.
Dr. McGlynn told the council the project is building a surface facility to run a closed-loop circulation test in which water will be injected, produced, cooled to near-commercial operation temperatures and reinjected. "We're gonna recycle that water in the system for about four months," she said, adding the test will help determine how to space commercial wells and how long operators can expect to extract heat from the subsurface. She also said Utah Forge will deploy seismic and geochemical monitoring to ensure the injected water remains in place.
McGlynn said Utah Forge has directly infused Beaver County with over $660,000 to date and expects further investment into 2028 as it constructs and operates the site. She described outreach efforts that include school visits and a statewide poster contest with county-level winners, and Christopher Katice, the project's outreach and marketing specialist, said the team has run school workshops and plans a field trip to Beaver County.
Council members welcomed the leadership change and thanked the Utah Forge team for local engagement. The presentation noted the site currently uses temporary diesel generation during construction and that Utah Forge is exploring connections with Rocky Mountain Power for longer-term generation; there is no commercial power generation on site at present. The project will determine the location of an additional well based on circulation results and plans further fracture development and longer-duration circulation tests after that well is drilled.
The council received the update; staff and Utah Forge officials said they will continue local coordination and outreach as testing proceeds.
Dr. McGlynn told the council the project is building a surface facility to run a closed-loop circulation test in which water will be injected, produced, cooled to near-commercial operation temperatures and reinjected. "We're gonna recycle that water in the system for about four months," she said, adding the test will help determine how to space commercial wells and how long operators can expect to extract heat from the subsurface. She also said Utah Forge will deploy seismic and geochemical monitoring to ensure the injected water remains in place.
McGlynn said Utah Forge has directly infused Beaver County with over $660,000 to date and expects further investment into 2028 as it constructs and operates the site. She described outreach efforts that include school visits and a statewide poster contest with county-level winners, and Christopher Katice, the project's outreach and marketing specialist, said the team has run school workshops and plans a field trip to Beaver County.
Council members welcomed the leadership change and thanked the Utah Forge team for local engagement. The presentation noted the site currently uses temporary diesel generation during construction and that Utah Forge is exploring connections with Rocky Mountain Power for longer-term generation; there is no commercial power generation on site at present. The project will determine the location of an additional well based on circulation results and plans further fracture development and longer-duration circulation tests after that well is drilled.
The council received the update; staff and Utah Forge officials said they will continue local coordination and outreach as testing proceeds.
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