Fervo Energy (Google-backed) brings 33 MW of geothermal online in Utah, targeting 100 MW by year-end and 500 MW by 2028.

Google's bet on geothermal energy is starting to pay off. Fervo Energy, an enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) provider backed by Google, achieved first power at its Cape Station power plant in Beaver County, Utah this week. The first of three 33 MW GeoBlocks has begun supplying electricity to the grid and is expected to reach commercial operation next week, with another 66 MW of capacity expected to come online by New Year. Fervo says the station has the potential to eventually scale to more than four gigawatts of capacity.

The company is currently working toward fulfilling 900 MW of contracted capacity. The deployment builds on years of research and development into EGS technologies that use heat generated by the Earth's crust to convert water into steam, which is then converted into energy using turbines. To overcome the challenge of getting water deep enough, Fervo borrowed technologies originally developed by the oil and gas industry. Two parallel wells are dug to around 8,000 feet (2,438 meters) below the surface, where the rock is fractured to allow water to pass between the two wells, heating the water to 190 degrees Celsius in the process.

In 2023, Fervo demonstrated the technology at its Project Red site, which generated 3.5 MW of power. Cape Station represents a significantly larger deployment. The facility is expected to produce 100 MW of capacity by January 1, with capacity expected to reach half a gigawatt by 2028.

Google, which has been an early proponent of geothermal power generation since at least 2008, is one of the major beneficiaries of this buildout. Beyond its deal with Fervo, Google has also agreed to purchase power from Ormat Technologies' competing geothermal operations. Earlier this year, Google announced a 150 MW deal with Ormat and Nevada's NV Energy to fuel its datacenter expansion.

Faced with grid constraints, Meta has similarly been investing in geothermal technology. In 2024, the company partnered with Sage Geosystems to deliver up to 150 MW of power.

Compared to conventional energy generation, geothermal still faces challenges. According to think tank Rhodium, while the technology could meet up to 64 percent of datacenter demand by the end of the decade, data centers could end up paying a 20 percent premium for it.