Geothermal company Fervo Energy announced Thursday that it began selling electricity from its Cape Station power plant to the grid on September 30, one day ahead of schedule. The facility, located in Utah, synchronized with the grid about a week ago, bringing online the first third of what will eventually become a 100-megawatt power plant. Fervo became the first enhanced geothermal company to reach this key commercial milestone.
From groundbreaking to commercial operations, the first block at Cape Station took just 23 months to complete. Fervo co-founder and CEO Tim Latimer said, "No team has ever built a project like this anywhere in the world, and we did it ahead of schedule." The company aims to complete future blocks in as little as 18 months.
The site has potential to generate up to 4 gigawatts of electricity. Google, Southern California Edison, and others have committed to purchasing power from the project. Fervo went public in May via an upsized IPO that raised $1.9 billion. The company, founded in 2017, applies oil and gas drilling techniques to geothermal development. Investors include Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Congruent Ventures, and Capricorn Investment Group.
Source: Hacker News · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing