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Houston geothermal company picks up power purchase agreement in California

heating up

Under two 15-year deals, Southern California Edison has agreed to buy a total of 320 megawatts of geothermal power from Fervo Energy. Photo via Getty Images

Houston-based Fervo Energy, a provider of geothermal power, has signed up one of the country’s largest utilities as a new customer.

Under two 15-year deals, Southern California Edison has agreed to buy a total of 320 megawatts of geothermal power from Fervo. Financial terms weren’t disclosed. The power will be enough to deliver electricity to the equivalent of 350,000 homes.

Southern California Edison, based in Rosemead, California, serves about 15 million people throughout a 50,000-square-mile area in California.

The utility will purchase the power from Fervo’s 400-megawatt Cape Station plant, which is under construction in southwest Utah. The plant’s first phase, providing 70 megawatts of power, is expected to be online by 2026.

“This announcement is another milestone in California’s commitment to clean zero-carbon electricity,” David Hochschild, chair of the California Energy Commission, says in a news release.

“Enhanced geothermal systems complement our abundant wind and solar resources by providing critical base load when those sources are limited,” he adds. “This is key to ensuring reliability as we continue to transition away from fossil fuels.”

In June, Fervo announced it would supply 115 megawatts of geothermal power for Google’s two data centers in Nevada. Two years ago, Fervo signed a deal with energy aggregators in California to supply 53 megawatts of geothermal power from Cape Station.

“As electrification increases and climate change burdens already fragile infrastructure, geothermal will only play a bigger role in U.S. power markets,” says Dawn Owens, Fervo's head of development and commercial markets.

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This article originally ran on InnovationMap.

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The new bp pulse station is the first bp pulse branded Gigahub in the US and will be open to the public. Photo via bp.com

bp bets big on EV infrastructure, opens new Houston charging center

plugging in

Energy giant bp is opening a large electric-vehicle charging site at its American headquarters in Houston.

The new bp pulse station is the first bp pulse branded Gigahub in the US and will be open to the public. The Gigahub, will offer 24 high-speed EV charge points with Tritium 150kW DC fast chargers. The chargers will be integrated with the bp pulse app, which assists users to locate the site, access real-time charging availability, and WiFi capabilities.

"As we expand our global footprint, I am thrilled to unveil our first EV charging Gigahub in the US,” Emma Delaney, bp executive vice president for customers and products, says in a news release. “With leading fast charging positions already in key markets in the UK, China, and Germany, we're learning about customer charging preferences on the go.”

The plan for bp pulse includes continued deployment of additional charging points at high-demand spots like major metropolitan areas, bp-owned properties, and airports. The company has also been awarded grant funds through programs including National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure and California Energy Commission, which will help to provide charging infrastructure at sites in Virginia,California, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Kentucky.

Last year, bp announced plans to invest $1 billion in EV charging infrastructure by 2030, with $500 million invested in by the end of 2025.

"We're excited to bring bp pulse to America's energy corridor and expand our presence in the US public EV-charging market," CEO of bp pulse Americas Sujay Sharma said in a news release "This project will bring fast, reliable charging to EV drivers when and where they need it, helping support faster electric-vehicle adoption in the US. We look forward to welcoming new and existing EV drivers to our growing network."

Enchanted Rock specializes in electrical-resiliency-as-a-service for sectors such as health care, manufacturing, and government infrastructure. Photo via enchantedrock.com

Houston microgrid company scores $2.1M grant for hydrogen blending tech research

fresh funding

A Houston-based provider of electric microgrids has scooped up a $2.1 million grant from the California Energy Commission for development of technology aimed at reducing greenhouse gasses and other natural gas emissions.

Enchanted Rock shares the grant with the University of California Riverside, or UCR.

“This is an exciting opportunity to further advance the potential use of hydrogen fuel blends for commercialization and market adoption,” Thomas McAndrew, founder and CEO of Enchanted Rock, says in a news release. “We believe in using the cleanest fuel available without compromising on reliability or performance for our customers and are dedicated to helping California, and the nation, achieve its climate and energy goals.”

The use of a hydrogen and natural gas blend for fueling generators shows promise for reducing emissions and improving efficiency, according to Enchanted Rock. The company says the funding will enable it to identify the ideal blend of natural gas and hydrogen for operating a natural generator while improving performance and minimizing emissions.

As part of the grant, UCR’s College of Engineering-Center for Environmental Research and Technology (CE-CERT) will play a key role in measuring emissions and combustion performance. Meanwhile, Palomar College in San Marcos, California, will host a field demonstration site.

”Hydrogen is one of the ‘low-hanging fruit’ solutions to decarbonize our transportation system and other sectors where emissions are hard to abate, and it can serve as a zero-carbon green fuel for internal combustion off-road and highway engines,” says UCR professor Georgios Karavalakis.

Founded in 2006, Enchanted Rock specializes in electrical-resiliency-as-a-service for sectors such as health care, manufacturing, and government infrastructure. The company’s dual-purpose microgrids rely on natural gas and renewable natural gas to produce lower carbon emissions and air pollutants than diesel generators.

In December, Enchanted Rock said it had teamed up with U.S. Energy to supply renewable natural gas for Microsoft’s new data center in San Jose, California, during grid outages and when businesses are directed to reduce power usage.

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Chevron CEO touts biofuels as part of its renewable energy efforts

Betting on biofuels

As Chevron Chairman and CEO Mike Wirth surveys the renewable energy landscape, he sees the most potential in biofuels.

At a recent WSJ CEO Council event, Wirth put a particular emphasis on biofuels—the most established form of renewable energy—among the mix of low-carbon energy sources. According to Biofuels International, Chevron operates nine biorefineries around the world.

Biofuels are made from fats and oils, such as canola oil, soybean oil and used cooking oil.

At Chevron’s renewable diesel plant in Geismar, Louisiana, a recent expansion boosted annual production by 278 percent — from 90 million gallons to 340 million gallons. To drive innovation in the low-carbon-fuels sector, Chevron opened a technology center this summer at its renewable energy campus in Ames, Iowa.

Across the board, Chevron has earmarked $8 billion to advance its low-carbon business by 2028.

In addition to biofuels, Chevron’s low-carbon strategy includes hydrogen, although Wirth said hydrogen “is proving to be very difficult” because “you’re fighting the laws of thermodynamics.”

Nonetheless, Chevron is heavily invested in the hydrogen market:

As for geothermal energy, Wirth said it shows “some real promise.” Chevron’s plans for this segment of the renewable energy industry include a 20-megawatt geothermal pilot project in Northern California, according to the California Community Choice Association. The project is part of an initiative that aims to eventually produce 600 megawatts of geothermal energy.

What about solar and wind power?

“We start with things where we have some reason to believe we can create shareholder value, where we’ve got skills and competency, so we didn’t go into wind or solar because we’re not a turbine manufacturer installing wind and solar,” he said in remarks reported by The Wall Street Journal.

In a September interview with The New York Times, Wirth touched on Chevron’s green energy capabilities.

“We are investing in new technologies, like hydrogen, carbon capture and storage, lithium and renewable fuels,” Wirth said. “They are growing fast but off a very small base. We need to do things that meet demand as it exists and then evolve as demand evolves.”

Houston robotics company partners with Marathon Petroleum to scale fleet

robot alliance

Houston- and Boston-based Square Robot Inc. has announced a partnership with downstream and midstream energy giant Marathon Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: MPC).

The partnership comes with an undisclosed amount of funding from Marathon, which Square Robot says will help "shape the design and development" of its submersible robotics platform and scale its fleet for nationwide tank inspections.

“Marathon’s partnership marks a major milestone in our mission to transform industrial tank inspection,” David Lamont, CEO of Square Robot, said in a news release. “They recognize the proven value of our robotic inspections—eliminating confined space entry, reducing the environmental impact, and delivering major cost efficiencies all while keeping tanks on-line and working. We’re excited to work together with such a great company to expand inspection capabilities and accelerate innovation across the industry.”

The company closed a $13 million series B last year. At the time of closing, Square Robot said it would put the funding toward international expansion in Europe and the Middle East.

Square Robot develops autonomous, submersible robots that are used for storage tank inspections and eliminate the need for humans to enter dangerous and toxic environments. Its newest tank inspection robot, known as the SR-3HT, became commercially available and certified to operate at a broader temperature range than previous models in the company's portfolio this fall.

The company was first founded in the Boston area in 2016 and launched its Houston office in 2019.

$3B acquisition of hazardous waste co. tops latest energy news to know

Trending news

Editor's note: The top energy transition news for the month includes Veolia's $3 billion Clean Earth acquisition and ERCOT's new $9.4 billion project. Here are the five most-read EnergyCapitalHTX stories from December 1-16, 2025:

1. Hazardous waste company with Houston presence to make $3B acquisition

Veolia will acquire Clean Earth. Photo courtesy of Veolia/LinkedIn

Veolia, a Boston-based company with major operations in Texas, is purchasing hazardous-waste company Clean Earth from Enviri as part of a $3 billion deal. Veolia is a private water operator, technology provider and hazardous waste and pollution treatment company that operates a large hazardous waste treatment and incineration facility in Port Arthur. Hazardous waste treatment is a growing sector as the clean energy, semiconductor manufacturing, healthcare and pharmaceutical industries generate high levels of waste that need to be handled safely. Continue reading.

2. Federal judge strikes Trump order blocking wind energy development

A federal judge has thrown out President Trump's executive order blocking wind energy development, calling it 'arbitrary and capricious.' Photo by Moritz Lange via Unsplash.

In a win for clean energy and wind projects in Texas and throughout the U.S., a federal judge struck down President Donald Trump’s “Day One” executive order that blocked wind energy development on federal lands and waters, the Associated Press reports. Judge Patti Saris of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts vacated Trump’s executive order from Jan. 20, declaring it unlawful and calling it “arbitrary and capricious.” Continue reading.

3. Air Liquide and Hyundai ink partnership to scale hydrogen economy

Air Liquide and Hyundai agreed to expand hydrogen refuelling networks, storage capacity and more at a meeting in Seoul last week. Photo courtesy Air Liquide.

Air Liquide, which maintains its U.S. headquarters in Houston, and South Korea-based Hyundai Motor Group are expanding their strategic partnership to accelerate the growth of the global hydrogen ecosystem. The renewal of the companies’ Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was announced at the Hydrogen Council CEO Summit in Seoul last week. Together, the companies will work to scale hydrogen production, storage, transportation and utilization across Europe, Korea and the United States with a concentration on heavy-duty transport, logistics and public transportation. Continue reading.

4. ERCOT approves $9.4B project to improve grid, meet data center demand

ERCOT plans to build a “super highway” of new transmission lines to boost grid reliability. Photo via Getty Images

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which manages the electric grid for 90 percent of Texans, is undertaking a $9.4 billion project to improve the reliability and efficiency of statewide power distribution. The initiative comes as ERCOT copes with escalating demand for electricity from data centers and cryptocurrency-mining facilities. Continue reading.

5. Reliant partners to expand Texas virtual power plant and home battery use

Reliant is offering new incentives to boost NRG's virtual power plant network in Texas. Photo via goodleap.com.

Houston’s Reliant and San Francisco tech company GoodLeap are teaming up to bolster residential battery participation and accelerate the growth of NRG’s virtual power plant (VPP) network in Texas. Through the new partnership, eligible Reliant customers can either lease a battery or enter into a power purchase agreement that incentivizes users by offering monthly performance-based rewards for contributing stored power to the grid. Continue reading.

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