Fervo begins selling power from first utility-scale next-generation geothermal plant
The first 33-megawatt unit at Cape Station in Utah is supplying carbon-free electricity to Shell Energy, with 500 megawatts planned by 2028.
Fervo Energy is selling electricity to the grid from its Cape Station project in Utah, the first time a utility-scale, next-generation geothermal plant has done so anywhere in the world.
The Houston-based company switched on an initial 33-megawatt unit late last week and is set to begin commercial operations this week, supplying carbon-free power to Shell Energy, a retail electricity provider in California.
Unlike conventional geothermal plants, which tap naturally occurring hot water and steam, Fervo engineers its own reservoirs in hot, dry rock using drilling techniques borrowed from the oil and gas industry. "Traditional geothermal would have never been done in southern Utah," said Dawn Owens, Fervo's senior vice president and head of development and commercial markets.
The $2 billion project is slated to reach 500 megawatts. Fervo aims to add two more 33-megawatt units by Jan. 1, 2027, and the remaining 400 megawatts, backed by an agreement with Google, is under construction for 2028.
Geothermal supplies just 0.4% of the nation's electricity, and cost remains a hurdle. Fervo has said Phase 1 of Cape Station will cost $7,000 per kilowatt and Phase 2 about $5,500 per kilowatt, compared with an average of $2,157 per kilowatt to build a natural gas plant in 2025. Developers are betting on demand from data centers and the need to balance intermittent solar and wind power.
This brief is based on reporting by Maria Gallucci, published Sept. 28, 2026, in Canary Media. Read the original: https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/geothermal/global-first-next-gen-geothermal-fervo
This article was produced with the assistance of AI tools and reviewed by an editor before publication.
