BEAVER COUNTY, Utah — The Biden-Harris Administration last week approved Fervo Energy’s request to build a multi-phase geothermal plant — Cape Station, northeast of Milford.
The project will cover about 631 acres, including 148 on public lands. The plant has the potential to power more than 65 million homes and businesses with clean energy, according to the Bureau of Land Management.
The first power plant is set to finish in the Spring of 2026. The entire project is set to finish by 2028, officials said. The entire project will cost over $100 million.
Brandon Yardley, Commissioner of Beaver County, said he’s looking forward to the economic impact this project will have on the community.
The project is expected to create about 6,602 temporary jobs during construction and 161 full-time operational jobs, officials said. That’s $437 million in earned wages.
“In our little community of 1400 people — this is a big deal for us,” Yardley said. “To have these guys come into the valley and support our small communities is huge.”
Geothermal energy is heat energy that comes from the earth. When drilled into, the rocks can transfer heat to geothermal fluids and are used to generate electricity.
Cape Station is one of 42 renewable energy projects on public lands approved by the Biden-Harris Administration as of Oct. 2024. The project is a part of the administration's goal of achieving a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2025.
Yardley said the project will also disrupt daily life in his hometown. As a farmer and rancher, the cows he’s raising are near where workers have already started drilling.
“It impacts my operations a little bit. We can’t graze as many cows, and we must make sure the traffic is taking care of so cows aren’t on the highway,” Yardley said. “But we must think of the big picture and what’s more important for the community.”
