Fervo Energy has announced the signing of two power purchase agreements (PPAs) totaling 320 MW with Southern California Edison (SCE), one of the nation’s largest electric utilities.
The two PPAs, signed for 15 years, will provide clean, and affordable power for the equivalent of 350,000 homes across Southern California.
The geothermal energy from Fervo will help California transition to a cleaner and more reliable power source.
According to Fervo Energy, SCE will purchase the power from its 400 MW Cape Station project currently under construction in southwest Utah.
Fervo Energy’s goals
The first 70 MW phase of Fervo Energy’s project is expected to be operational by 2026 and the second phase will be operational by 2028, according to a release by the company.
Geothermal energy, being a carbon-free and weather-agnostic source, will also prove to be a reliable source for meeting California’s power consumption demands.
“This announcement is another milestone in California’s commitment to clean, zero-carbon electricity,” said California Energy Commission Chair David Hochschild.
“Enhanced geothermal systems complement our abundant wind and solar resources by providing critical base load when those sources are limited. This is key to ensuring reliability as we continue to transition away from fossil fuels.”
“Geothermal stands as the dependable and adaptable solution essential for California’s journey towards a fully decarbonized grid,” said Dawn Owens, VP, Head of Development and Commercial Markets for Fervo Energy.
“As electrification increases and climate change burdens already fragile infrastructure, geothermal will only play a bigger role in U.S. power markets. Fervo looks forward to continuing to meet these needs, providing firm, clean power to help balance California’s energy portfolio.”
Geothermal energy generation
Earlier in July 2023, Fervo Energy had claimed to achieve “commercial scale” geothermal energy production from its Project Red demonstration site in northern Nevada.
Unlike wind and solar power plants, geothermal energy can be sourced around the clock and on demand to cater to increased energy needs.
Startups like Fervo Energy have devised newer ways to make geothermal energy accessible in most regions. The wells are drilled deep underground, and fluid is injected into them to create fractures in the rock to increase their permeability. This then creates the conditions needed to generate electricity.
For the demo, Fervo had used a horizontal well pair that extended to 3,250 feet (990 m) and reached a temperature of 375 degrees Fahrenheit (191 degrees Celsius).
During the test period, Fervo achieved a flow rate of 63 liters per second, sufficient to generate 3.5 MW of electricity. One megawatt of energy can power approximately 750 homes at a time.
Data collected during this pilot was used to improve the design for Fervo’s next well pair and double the energy output generated.
“By applying drilling technology from the oil and gas industry, we have proven that we can produce 24/7 carbon-free energy resources in new geographies across the world,” Tim Latimer, Fervo Energy CEO and Co-Founder, had said back then.
The company had also signed an agreement in 2021 with Google to supply geothermal energy to the tech giant’s data centers.
After the demonstration, it had planned to connect the Nevada site to the electrical grid to supply electricity to Google.
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