Google agrees to buy 396 MW of geothermal power from Fervo for Utah data center
Quick Look
- Google has agreed to purchase 396 megawatts of geothermal electricity from Fervo's Cape Station plant in Utah to power a planned data center, with an option to buy an additional 600 MW through 2030.
- The deal supports Google's AI expansion while aiming to maintain its net-zero emissions goal by 2030, despite a prior natural gas power agreement in Texas that complicated that target.
- Fervo's stock rose approximately 30% following the announcement.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Google has been a major purchaser of clean energy in the U.S. to meet its 2030 net-zero emissions goal, but a recent agreement with Crusoe for natural gas power in Texas complicated that objective. Fervo is a geothermal energy company developing enhanced geothermal systems, with prior ties to Google through investment and power purchases.
Geothermal energy company Fervo notched another win as Google agreed to buy nearly half a gigawatt of electricity to power a planned new data center in Utah.
The power purchase agreement, announced Tuesday, commits Google to buying 396 megawatts from Fervo’s Cape Station power plant in Utah, which is expected to come online in 2028. Google has the option through June 2030 to buy an additional 600 megawatts.
The deal arrives as Google and other hyperscalers are scouring the country for new sources of electricity. For years, Google has been one of the larger purchasers of clean energy in the U.S. and elsewhere, buying electricity from wind, solar, and batteries to make good on its promise to reach net-zero emissions by 2030.
But in April, that goal became harder to reach after Google inked a deal with data center developer Crusoe for 933 megawatts of natural gas power in Texas.
The Fervo deal could help Google fuel its AI ambitions without significantly imperiling its net-zero goal.
Fervo is permitted to develop up to 2 gigawatts of geothermal energy at Cape Station, but Sarah Jewett, Fervo’s senior vice president of strategy, told TechCrunch in May that a third-party engineer said the site holds enough heat to generate twice as much electricity.
If fully developed, those 4 gigawatts would about double the entire geothermal generating capacity in the U.S., according to a recent U.S. Department of Energy report. It’s possible that Google’s gigawatt deal could grow even larger if Fervo’s operations go as planned.
Enhanced geothermal technologies, like the kind Fervo has developed, can tap deeper sources of heat. Using those technologies, the U.S. could generate up to 57 terawatts of electricity, according to the report.
Fervo and Google’s new deal adds to the pair’s long-standing relationship. The companies have been working together for more than five years, with Google buying some of Fervo’s first electrons. Recently, Google invested in Fervo’s last funding round before the geothermal startup went public.
Though Fervo’s stock popped on its first day of trading, it shed those gains and more over the last few months. News of the Google deal, though, drove the stock up about 30% yesterday before traders took some profits today.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Google will exercise its option to purchase an additional 600 MW of geothermal power from Fervo by June 2030.
Likely · Within years
Open Questions
- What is the exact timeline for the Utah data center construction?
- Will Google exercise its option to purchase the additional 600 MW from Fervo?
- How will the geothermal power be transmitted to the data center site?
