Norton Rose Fulbright advises lenders on US$421 million financing for landmark geothermal project

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright advised the lenders on the US$421 million non-recourse project financing for the first phase of Fervo Energy 's Cape Station, the world's largest next-generation geothermal project, located in Beaver County, Utah. The deal closing was announced on March 19, 2026.

This pioneering transaction represents a breakthrough for enhanced geothermal systems, demonstrating that these projects can achieve large-scale, lender-supported financing and signaling the project's transition from early-stage and bridge funding to a long-term, non-recourse capital structure.

Cape Station will use advanced technology to deliver approximately 500 MW of carbon-free baseload power to the grid upon full completion in 2028. Phase 1 of the project is scheduled to begin providing power this year and reach approximately 100 MW of operating capacity by early 2027. The development is fully contracted through power purchase agreements with Southern California Edison, Shell Energy and community choice aggregators.

The funding package includes a US$309 million construction-to-term loan, a US$61 million tax credit bridge loan and a US$51 million letter of credit. These facilities will finance the remaining construction costs for Phase 1 of Cape Station and support the project's counterparty credit support requirements.

Norton Rose Fulbright's deal team was led by Christine Brozynski (New York) and Kim Stouffer (San Francisco) and included Lauren Shapiro Newberry (Austin), Kristian Gluck, Jesse Hollingsworth (Dallas), Payton Murphy (Denver), Ibrahim Basit, John Ngunjiri (Houston), Marian Baldwin Fuerst, Bassam Chain, Andrew Skroback, Francisco Vazquez (New York), Justin Davenport (San Antonio), Hilary Lefko, Debra Ann Palmer, Jody-Ann Knight and Ugo Uche-Anya (Washington, DC).