Fervo Energy (“Fervo”), the leader in next-generation geothermal energy, today held its second annual Technology Day, announcing a suite of both technical and commercial breakthroughs. In the last year, Fervo drilled 15 wells at Cape Station, achieved record-breaking commercial flow rates at the site’s first well test, and secured a $100 million construction loan from X-Caliber Rural Capital to accelerate its operations.
The successful well test, announced today, demonstrates Fervo’s utility-scale power generation capabilities and establishes Cape Station as the most productive enhanced geothermal system in history. Cape Station is slated to begin delivering 24/7 carbon-free electricity to the grid in 2026. Four hundred megawatts of renewable power from Cape Station is fully contracted from investment grade buyers and will be online by 2028.
The 30-day test, a standard for geothermal, achieved a maximum flow rate of 107 kg/s at high temperature, enabling over 10 MW of electric production, triple the per production well output of Fervo’s commercial pilot, Project Red. With this record breaking well test, Fervo has demonstrated performance in line with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s “Advanced Technology” case more than a decade ahead of the 2035 target.
“Fervo continues to achieve technical milestones for geothermal development that experts predicted to be set decades from now,” said Tim Latimer, Fervo CEO and Co-Founder. “At a time when 24/7 clean energy is urgently needed, Fervo has shown that the geothermal industry is ready to meet that need with power projects that can come online this decade.”
This record-breaking reservoir performance accompanies sustained drilling progress, allowing Fervo to develop the Cape Station wellfield ahead of schedule. Earlier this year, Fervo announced a 70% year-over-year reduction in drilling times between Cape Station and Project Red. This occurred while Fervo was simultaneously pushing the boundaries of high temperature drilling performance with the highest reservoir temperature achieved to date exceeding 220° C.
"Clean firm resources are critical to complete the carbon-free electricity portfolio and provide decarbonized energy around-the-clock," said Jesse Jenkins, Assistant Professor and leader of the Zero-Carbon Energy Systems Research and Optimization (ZERO) Lab at Princeton University. "Fervo's technical success commercializing advanced geothermal brings us one step closer to a clean, reliable grid."
Fervo has achieved these milestones with support from a robust oil and gas workforce; fossil fuel workers have accounted for over 90% of on-site labor hours at Cape Station to date. Fervo looks to grow this labor pool by collaborating with local oilfield services companies to boost workforce development and local hiring across southwest Utah.
“The accomplishments that Fervo is announcing today confirm that next-generation geothermal is on the cusp of commercial success,” said Jeff Marootian, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. “It’s this type of literal ground-breaking achievement that is paving the way to expand geothermal energy and realize its crucial role in our clean energy future.”
