Fervo Secures $11.9 Billion in Orders for Geothermal Power Technology

Increased Order Book

Geothermal energy company Fervo announced $11.9 billion in contracted revenue in its third-quarter earnings report, up from $7.2 billion in the previous quarter. This increase reflects growing interest in its geothermal power solutions, particularly from large technology companies seeking electricity for AI data centers.

Key Projects and Deliveries

Fervo is developing a 396-megawatt power plant for Google, named Cape Google 400, which is scheduled for grid connection by the end of 2028. The company also connected its first 100-megawatt power plant to the grid earlier this year. Both projects are located at Cape Station in Utah, a site with a potential generation capacity of 8.4 gigawatts, exceeding earlier estimates of 4 gigawatts.

Geothermal Advantages and Technology

Fervo's co-founder and CEO, Tim Latimer, highlighted the phased construction of geothermal plants as an advantage, allowing for independent development schedules for power generation and data center construction. The company's newer wells are deeper and hotter, each capable of generating 15 megawatts of gross power, and are linked into 'GeoBlocks' sized to match data center hall demand. The first completed GeoBlock generated 33 megawatts, with recent ones reaching 50 megawatts.

Financial Position and Cost Reduction

Fervo reported an operating loss of $43.7 million for the quarter, but maintains a strong financial position with $1.9 billion in cash and cash equivalents against $301.6 million in long-term debt. The company is focused on reducing the cost of its power plants; the first phase of Cape Station cost $7,000 per kilowatt, while the Google project is projected at $5,500 per kilowatt, indicating a downward trend in costs.