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Fervo reports construction progress at Cape Station; company and council discuss housing and community impacts
Summary
Fervo Energy told the Milford council that Cape Station Phase 1 construction is progressing, 350 workers are on site, and company representatives and the council discussed housing pressures, local hiring and use of increased property tax revenue for community projects.
Sarah Jewett, a representative of Fervo Energy, updated the Milford City Council on the Cape Station development at the Sept. 16 meeting, reporting project milestones, local hiring and ongoing community coordination.
Jewett said Cape Station Phase 1 comprises three power plants (100 megawatts in development for Phase 1) with the first unit nearing commissioning activities; the company plans cold and then hot commissioning beginning in January and will pursue Phase 2 (an additional 400 megawatts) in parallel with procurement and construction. Jewett reported roughly 350 people on the project site conducting drilling, completions and related construction activities and said a recent local hiring event produced 10 equipment operators, linemen and technicians from the surrounding area. She noted 23 people had been hired locally or had relocated to the area to work at the facility.
Councilmembers and staff raised concerns about housing availability and truck traffic. Jewett acknowledged housing pressure in Milford and Beaver and said Fervo does not intend to create unsustainable housing markets; she said the company is exploring incentives to attract outside developers and is talking with the Utah Inland Port Authority (UIPA) about directing increased property-tax revenue generated by the project toward community investments such as bypass roads, housing and moving a rail spur out of town.
Mayor Nolan and staff said they are pursuing housing incentives and speaking with UIPA and developers about reactivating stalled projects, including the Granite View Estates project, and are asking UIPA to consider using incremental tax revenues to mitigate truck traffic on Main Street and to support housing development. Jewett said Fervo is open to coordination and will continue to seek ways to hire locally and incentivize sustainable housing.
Jewett also said Fervo donated funds to Milford to support an update of the city’s zoning code and invited council members and staff to tour the project site; she said safety is a primary focus and praised local contractors and partner firms for site performance. No council action was required; staff and company representatives agreed to continue coordination on housing, transportation mitigations and workforce development.
