ImpactAlpha, August 24 — Unlike wind and solar energy, geothermal energy offers steady, renewable power that doesn’t need storage.
“Power buyers are interested in geothermal power because they are actively looking for reliable energy sources that can address climate change and rising energy prices,” said Tim Latimer of Houston-based Fervo, which uses the horizontal drilling methods of frackers to tap into geothermal energy.
The company secured a partnership last year with Google to develop a geothermal power project in Nevada. Fervo also signed a 40-megawatt power purchase agreement with Oakland-based East Bay Community Energy.
The Series C investment will help Fervo complete geothermal power plants in Nevada and evaluate opportunities in California, Idaho, Oregon, Colorado, New Mexico and globally. The company raised $28 million in a Series B round in May last year.
Clean energy transition
Fervo is “working to unlock the potential of geothermal energy to provide clean, reliable energy at a sustainable price point,” said Bruce Hogg of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, or CPP Investments, which invested $20 million in the round led by DCVC.
Existing investors that re-upped include Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Capricorn’s Technology Impact Fund and Elemental Excelerator. New investors include Grantham Foundation, Impact Science Ventures, Liberty Energy, Macquarie and Prelude Ventures.
