Fervo Starts Up 33-MW Utah Geothermal Power Plant Unit

---

Written by Paul Wiseman for IIR News Intelligence (Sugar Land, Texas)

---

Summary

Industrial Info Resources is tracking 13 greenfield U.S. geothermal projects, with a total investment value of $2.58 billion.

---

From the Ground Up

Geothermal company Fervo Energy said October 1 it had achieved commercial operation at the first of three 33-megawatt (MW) geothermal power plants at its Cape Station plant at Beaver Creek, Utah. The company said Cape Station is the first greenfield enhanced geothermal development in the world to achieve contractual commercial operations.

Fervo said it connected the unit to the grid on September 24 and started commercial operations on September 30, fulfilling its power purchase agreement (PPA) through a connection to the existing Milford Substation, which is about six miles away.

Industrial Info Resources is tracking 13 active greenfield U.S. geothermal projects, with a total investment value (TIV) of $2.58 billion. The Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database offers a list of detailed project reports.

Fortunately for Fervo, a late May blowout at the unit did not significantly delay progress. At that time, some drilling rods broke apart upon being removed from a well, triggering a surge. Geothermal blowouts are much less an issue than those in the oil industry, because geothermal wells contain no toxic substances.

Fervo and Google

In September, Fervo announced it had signed a 396-MW PPA for the station with Google, including an option to expand to 1 GW. It would power a potential data center in the area, plans for which are still in the works. This PPA would require Fervo, which went public earlier this year, to greatly expand the current 100-MW project.

Geothermal's Promise

While humans have used geothermal energy in some form since the dawn of civilization, its connection to the power grid has been slow in coming. According to Industrial Info Resources data, only one other grid-connected geothermal plant is set for completion this year, in Hawaii.

However, geothermal's promise is growing, as public and private investment ramps up significantly. In February 2026, the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Geothermal (OG) announced the availability of $171.5 million to help expand geothermal energy, through advanced research, according to the DOE's Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) statement.

In September, the OG announced an award of up to $99 million for 21 selected projects in two main categories. One category involves five next-generation (the type of system used by Fervo) field-scale tests "at depths and temperatures appropriate for full-scale project development."

The other award category is for exploration drilling that will "support characterization and potential confirmation of promising next-generation and hydrothermal prospects for electrical power production."

Project Winners

Fervo, in fact, is among the recipients, receiving funding for drilling, completing, and stimulating some EGS wells in Elmore County, Idaho. It would also deploy an advanced geophone display while conducting testing alongside some unnamed national labs.

Sixteen other projects involve "exploration drilling to gather the subsurface data needed to characterize and potentially confirm promising next-generation and conventional hydrothermal geothermal resources."

The DOE plans to make all findings available to the industry as a whole.

Defining Next Generation

Renewable-energy focused research firm RMI (formerly the Rocky Mountain Institute) defines next-generation and enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) as follows:

"Next-generation geothermal refers to approaches that create or control the subsurface conditions needed to extract heat where nature does not already provide a productive hydrothermal system. Enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) create permeability in hot rock; closed-loop systems circulate working fluid through sealed subsurface networks; and superhot rock projects apply these approaches at much higher temperatures and energy densities."

Private Sector Chimes In

A 2025 National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) report funded by the Office of Geothermal said at that time more than $1.5 billion of private investment money had been invested in EGS since 2021, a significant increase from previous times.

RMI reported in May 2026 that geothermal investment had grown by 100 times in seven years, "from $22 million in 2018 to $2.2 billion in 2025."

The NLR reported noted that 30 states had chimed in as well, offering varying types of geothermal support and funding.

Why Now and What's Next

One reason for this boost in investment is that intense research is pushing down costs for EGS compared to traditional geothermal. The latter has generally been considered uneconomic for grid power use, an objection that many EGS options are overcoming.

RMI notes that between its rich geothermal resources and its technical expertise, including much that transfers from oil and gas, "the geothermal opportunity is particularly large." However, to maximize the advantage, it sees a need for increasing manufacturing and supply chain issues related to geothermal.

Key Takeaways

• Fervo Energy has started up and connected to the grid the first phase of its 100 MW geothermal plant at Beaver Creek, Utah.
• Fervo expects the other two units to come online in early 2027.
• Enhanced geothermal projects in the U.S. are receiving billions of dollars of investment, both public and private, as it uses those dollars for research toward increasing efficiency.

---

About Industrial Info Resources

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, Industrial Info Resources is tracking over 250,000 current and future projects worth $30.2 Trillion (USD).