Fervo’s Geothermal Backlog Jumps to $11.9 Billion After Google Signs for 396 Megawatts

Economic Warfare & Trade Policy › Energy & commodities

Fervo Energy said Monday, Nov. 9, that it now has about $11.9 billion in contracted revenue under binding power purchase agreements, up from $7.2 billion three months earlier, after signing a 15-year deal to supply Google with 396 megawatts of geothermal power. The Houston-based company, which went public in May, also reported that the first block of its Cape Station plant in Utah reached commercial operation on Sept. 30, ahead of its contractual deadline.

The Google contract runs 15 years, is take-or-pay and grid-connected, and is expected to deliver first power in mid-2028, with full capacity targeted by the end of 2028, according to Fervo’s third-quarter results. Fervo has also committed to offer Google an option for about 600 more megawatts, which would bring the partnership to nearly 1 gigawatt.

The deal and the plant

With the Google agreement, Fervo has 1,054 megawatts under binding contracts, compared with 658 megawatts at the end of June. By The Boston Report’s calculation from those figures, contracted capacity rose 60% in one quarter and contracted revenue rose about 65%.

Cape Station’s first 33-megawatt GeoBlock is delivering power and operating in line with expectations, the company said. A second block has synced to the grid and a third is in commissioning, and both are expected to reach commercial operation by Jan. 1, 2027, completing the plant’s first phase of about 100 megawatts. Eight more blocks, now called Cape Google 400, are under construction to serve the Google contract; drilling for them is about 18% complete.

Google can draw on the grid-connected power or sell it to others if it is not ready to use it, CEO Tim Latimer said on the earnings call, according to TechCrunch. “Google can develop a potential data center on their schedule, and neither party is waiting on the other,” he said. For the optional 600-megawatt expansion, the companies are pursuing direct delivery to a possible data center in Beaver County, Utah, under a state law known as SB132.

What the cost numbers show

The key test for Fervo is cost. The company said its first phase at Cape Station cost about $7,000 per kilowatt of capacity and that it is targeting $5,500 per kilowatt for the Google project, on the way to a long-term goal of $3,000. Its company presentation put the cost of its original well design at more than $15,000 per kilowatt, Investing.com reported.

By The Boston Report’s math, the Google project target is about 21% cheaper per kilowatt than Phase I, and the long-term goal would be less than half of today’s cost. TechCrunch noted that at $5,500 per kilowatt, with subsidies, Fervo’s power would be roughly comparable to a new gas plant burning fuel at $6 per million BTUs, about twice today’s gas price, while the $3,000 goal could undercut gas. These are targets, not results; the company’s forward-looking statements warn that costs and timelines could differ.

Fervo also said a new independent study by DeGolyer and MacNaughton supports about 8.4 gigawatts of capacity potential at Cape Station, nearly double the prior 4.3-gigawatt estimate.

Losses, cash and the stock

Fervo is still spending far more than it earns. Third-quarter revenue was $116,000, and the company posted an operating loss of $43.7 million as general and administrative costs rose to $39.4 million from $27.4 million in the second quarter. It reported net income of $11.7 million thanks to interest income, an $11.8 million gain on interest-rate swaps and a $29.9 million tax benefit, but a net loss attributable to common shareholders of $0.07 a share.

Capital spending was $256.7 million in the quarter. Fervo cut its forecast for second-half spending to $700 million to $750 million from $850 million to $900 million, saying some Google-project spending will come later in construction with no change in timing. It ended September with $1.9 billion in cash and $301.6 million in debt. Investing.com reported the shares rose about 20%, to $10.87, after the results, still far below a 52-week high of $42.65.

Why it matters

Technology companies are racing to secure round-the-clock power for AI, from offshore wind like Vineyard Wind’s 800 megawatts off Massachusetts to gas generators and geothermal. That demand is colliding with political pushback, including the data center moratorium debate that rattled chip stocks last week. Fervo will host an investor open house at Cape Station on Nov. 19. For more business news, see our markets coverage.

Sources

• Fervo Energy: Fervo Energy Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results
• TechCrunch: Fervo now has $12B in orders for its geothermal power tech
• Investing.com: Fervo Energy Q3 2026 slides: first commercial geothermal plant online