Fervo Energy Announces 320 MW Power Purchase Agreements With Southern California Edison
25 June 2024 - 12:00PM
Business Wire
World’s largest geothermal PPAs highlight
increasing utility demand for clean, reliable next-generation
geothermal energy
Fervo Energy (“Fervo”), the leader in next-generation geothermal
energy, announced today the execution of two power purchase
agreements (PPAs) totaling 320 MW with Southern California Edison
(SCE), one of the nation’s largest utilities. The 15-year
agreements for 24/7 carbon-free geothermal energy will provide
reliable, clean, and affordable power for the equivalent of 350,000
homes across Southern California and support SCE’s vision to help
California transition to a cleaner energy future.
SCE will purchase the power from Fervo Energy’s 400 MW Cape
Station project currently under construction in southwest Utah. The
first 70 MW phase of the project is expected to be operational by
2026 and the second phase will be operational by 2028.
"This announcement is another milestone in California’s
commitment to clean, zero-carbon electricity," said California
Energy Commission Chair David Hochschild. "Enhanced geothermal
systems complement our abundant wind and solar resources by
providing critical base load when those sources are limited. This
is key to ensuring reliability as we continue to transition away
from fossil fuels."
In 2021, the California Public Utilities Commission issued a
mid-term reliability (MTR) mandate requiring utilities to procure
1,000 MW of non-weather-dependent, non-battery, zero-emission
energy to increase the reliability of the state’s electric grid.
This decision catalyzed demand for geothermal, which provides firm,
carbon-free power, filling gaps left by weather-dependent
renewables like solar and wind.
Fervo’s breakthrough drilling technology enables geothermal to
address this growing demand for renewable firm power. By using
techniques adapted from the oil and gas industry, Fervo has
de-risked a scalable approach to geothermal development. Early
drilling results, released in February 2024, show faster drilling
times and an overall reduction in costs at Cape Station, Fervo’s
400 MW development in Beaver County, Utah. These positive results
support continued commercialization and a readiness for large-scale
agreements like this, the world’s largest geothermal PPA. Fervo has
now contracted 373 MW of renewable power from Cape Station.
“Geothermal stands as the dependable and adaptable solution
essential for California's journey towards a fully decarbonized
grid,” said Dawn Owens, VP, Head of Development & Commercial
Markets for Fervo Energy. “As electrification increases and
climate change burdens already fragile infrastructure, geothermal
will only play a bigger role in U.S. power markets. Fervo looks
forward to continuing to meet these needs, providing firm, clean
power to help balance California’s energy portfolio.”
In 2022, Fervo contracted 53 MW of power from Cape Station to
California community choice aggregators, and in 2021, Fervo and
Google signed the world’s first corporate agreement to develop
next-generation geothermal power. Fervo’s commercial pilot in
Nevada came online in November 2023 and is sending carbon-free
electricity to the local grid that powers Google’s data
centers.
About Fervo Energy
Fervo Energy provides 24/7 carbon-free energy through the
development of next-generation geothermal power. Fervo’s mission is
to leverage innovation in geoscience to accelerate the world’s
transition to sustainable energy. Geothermal has a major role to
play in the future electric grid, and Fervo’s key advancements in
drilling and subsurface analytics bring a full suite of modern
technology to make geothermal cost competitive and globally
scalable. For more information, please visit
www.fervoenergy.com.
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Media contact
Fervo Energy Ally Copple 713-201-8800
ally@innovantpr.com