2025 - Geothermal: Fervo Energy

In this November 2025 readout, an OpenMinds NextGen student team working with Fervo Energy assessed what offtakers would pay for FervoFlex, a way to run enhanced geothermal wells as dispatchable clean firm power. Slowing production builds pressure in the wells, which can be released later to generate extra energy on demand. The team interviewed more than 20 experts across utilities, hyperscalers, developers, regulators and advisory firms.

Key points

• The upper range of willingness to pay for dispatchable energy resources falls between $20 and $25 per kW-month.
• Interviewees agree long-duration dispatchability is valuable and necessary, but the ecosystem is nascent: no clear owner, and market models undervalue long duration.
• Short-term ramping faces stiff competition from lithium-ion, still the cheapest short-duration storage at as low as $10 per kW-month.
• California and Minnesota stand out as promising states for deployment, and California is the only western state with a long-duration energy storage procurement target.