Fervo Energy Signs 396 MW Geothermal PPA With Google
Fervo Energy and Google have signed a 396 MW power purchase agreement covering the Cape Station GeoCluster in southwest Utah. Photo Credit: Fervo Energy
Key Points
- Fervo Energy has signed a 396 MW, 15-year power purchase agreement with Google covering the Cape Station enhanced geothermal GeoCluster in Utah, with first power targeted for the third quarter of 2028.
- Google holds an option to expand its offtake by roughly 600 MW, taking the total to nearly 1 GW, with delivery targeted around mid-2030.
- Fervo’s investor presentation reports 1,054 MW of binding PPAs and contracted revenue of approximately $11.9 billion, a 65% increase across the GeoCluster portfolio.
- Contracted capacity at Cape Station rises by about 80%, from roughly 500 MW to roughly 900 MW before the expansion option.
- Power will be grid-connected initially, with Fervo and Google exploring direct-to-load delivery to a potential regional data center under Utah’s SB 132 framework.
The Terms of the Agreement
Fervo Energy (Nasdaq: FRVO) said on September 1 it had signed a 396 MW power purchase agreement with Google at Cape Station, its enhanced geothermal project in southwest Utah. Fervo calls it the largest enhanced geothermal PPA signed to date.
The contract runs 15 years and covers about 400 MW across eight GeoBlocks, Fervo’s standardized 50 MW development unit, according to an investor presentation published alongside the release. First power is due in the third quarter of 2028, delivered in tranches.
Google holds an option on a further 600 MW, which would lift the combined position to almost 1 GW, with delivery targeted for around mid-2030. That option has not been exercised, and Fervo counts it separately from contracted capacity.
The power will go to the grid initially. Fervo and Google are also examining direct supply to a prospective Utah data center under Senate Bill 132, a route that requires regulatory approval. Fervo said the contract adds round-the-clock capacity at no cost to existing ratepayers.
Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS)
Conventional geothermal power depends on finding naturally occurring hot water and existing fractures underground, which limits development to a small number of sites. EGS instead drills horizontal wells into hot rock and engineers the fracture network using techniques borrowed from unconventional oil and gas. Because the reservoir is built instead of found, the resource base is far larger and there is much less risk of drilling a dry hole.
“This agreement reinforces that EGS is ready to power the next generation of computing infrastructure. As demand for reliable electricity grows, customers like Google need energy resources that can be deployed at scale, operate around the clock, and deliver where power is needed.”
— Tim Latimer, CEO and Co-Founder, Fervo Energy
Fervo’s Contracted Capacity
Cape Station carried about 500 MW of contracted capacity before the deal: roughly 100 MW in Phase I and about 400 MW of existing Cape II PPAs. The Google contract takes that to roughly 900 MW, an increase of about 80%.
Across the full GeoCluster portfolio the presentation reports 1,054 MW of binding PPAs and about $11.9 billion of contracted revenue. Fervo attributes a 65% rise in contracted revenue to the Google deal but does not say how much of the $11.9 billion it represents.
| Counterparty | Customer Type | Contracted Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Google (September 2026) | Hyperscaler | 396 MW |
| Southern California Edison | Utility | 398 MW |
| Google and NV Energy (June 2024) | Hyperscaler / Utility | 115 MW |
| Clean Power Alliance | Community choice aggregator | 48 MW |
| Ava Community Energy | Community choice aggregator | 40 MW |
| Shell | Load serving entity | 31 MW |
| Desert Community Energy | Community choice aggregator | 26 MW |
| Total binding PPAs | 1,054 MW | |
Google now accounts for 511 MW across its two contracts, 48% of Fervo’s contracted capacity. Southern California Edison holds a further 38%. The remaining 145 MW is split between three community choice aggregators and one load serving entity.
Cape Station and the GeoBlock Model
Cape Station, in southwest Utah, is on Fervo’s account the largest enhanced geothermal system built to date. The company has 500 MW under construction there, with first power from Phase I expected in the fourth quarter of 2026. A heat-in-place study by DeGolyer and MacNaughton, combined with internal thermal recovery estimates, puts the site’s potential at about 4.3 GW.
The contract expands Cape Station; it is not a new site. GeoBlocks 1 to 3 make up the roughly 100 MW Phase I, and GeoBlocks 4 to 11 the roughly 400 MW now under construction. The eight blocks contracted to Google sit inside that expansion.
GeoBlock
Fervo’s standardized 50 MW development unit, comprising a well pad and a co-located organic Rankine cycle power unit. Standardizing around a fixed temperature and unit size allows bulk equipment procurement, repeatable execution and continuous cost improvement across successive builds, in place of the bespoke engineering that characterizes conventional geothermal projects.
Fervo is targeting $5,500 per kW of installed capacity on its Generation 3 well design, down from $7,000 on Generation 2, and $3,000 per kW once it is building at scale. Construction time is meant to fall from 36 months to 30, and eventually to 18. These are management estimates, and Fervo labels the $3,000 figure illustrative.
Fervo’s Sawtooth 7 well reached total depth 21 days after spud, a record for the Generation 3 design, at 19,448 feet measured depth with a 7,500-foot lateral in a 460°F resource.
A Partnership That Started With 3 MW
The relationship dates to Project Red, Fervo’s 3 MW commercial pilot in Nevada, which came online in 2023 and delivers power to the local grid including Google’s data centers in the state. In June 2024 the two companies signed a 115 MW PPA alongside NV Energy that, in Fervo’s words, helped pioneer the Clean Transition Tariff, a mechanism allowing Google to add geothermal capacity to the Nevada grid while insulating everyday customers from the project’s costs.
Fervo signed a 3 GW framework agreement with Google Energy in March 2026, covering potential offtake for existing and planned data centers in both grid-connected and behind-the-meter configurations. It sets out a development process across specified US regions and carries a roughly 1 GW proposal requirement within two years.
Today’s 396 MW contract was not signed under that framework. Fervo says the 600 MW Cape Station option would be the first deal to fall fully under it, if Google exercises it. Nothing has been contracted against the 3 GW so far.
“The next chapter of advanced power generation technology is being written in Utah. This project will drive meaningful economic benefit to the local community and help catalyze long-term energy cost reductions by making enhanced geothermal more affordable and accessible.”
— Michael Terrell, Head of Advanced Energy, Google
What Still Has to Go Right
Fervo’s only disclosed operating plant is the 3 MW Project Red pilot. It has 500 MW under construction and 1,054 MW under binding PPAs. Phase I first power, expected in the fourth quarter of 2026, is the first test; delivery under the Google contract does not begin until the third quarter of 2028.
The 600 MW is an option, which Fervo counts apart from contracted capacity. The data center is not committed either: Fervo says the plans depend on engineering feasibility, state and local approvals and commercial terms. The SB 132 route needs regulatory approval before it can be used.
Utah Senate Bill 132
Utah legislation establishing a framework under which large-load customers drawing 100 MW or more can contract directly with qualifying generation providers. Fervo and Google are exploring its use for direct-to-load supply to a potential Utah data center, subject to regulatory approvals.
Fervo has drilled Generation 3 wells and published the Sawtooth 7 result. It has not yet shown the step down from $5,500 to $3,000 per kW, or from 30 months of construction to 18.
The contract is still the largest enhanced geothermal PPA signed to date. It lifts Fervo’s contracted position to 1,054 MW, against roughly 4 GW of conventional geothermal capacity installed across the United States.