Google-backed next-generation geothermal developer Fervo Energy has achieved first power at its flagship geothermal development in Beaver County, Utah.

The announcement marks the first utility-scale enhanced geothermal project to achieve power anywhere in the world. The project is tied to a long-term PPA with Google, signed earlier this year, which saw the hyperscaler agree to offtake 396MW of power from the project.

The Cape Station GeoCluster, located in Beaver County, Utah, is expected to be completed in phases, with Phase I expected to have a capacity of 100MW, made up of three 33MW GeoBlocks, the first of which has achieved first power. The company said it will continue ramping up the first GeoBlock as it brings the full well system online while commissioning the remaining two GeoBlocks, which are expected to reach commercial operations in January 2027.

The next stage of the project, which is expected to add a further 400MW, is under construction and is expected to be completed in 2028. At full capacity, Fervo claims that the project will have a power output of approximately 900MW.

Fervo is an Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) company that uses drilling techniques adapted from the fracking sector to unlock geothermal power that is inaccessible with traditional methods. By drawing on deeper, hotter deposits, EGS systems have much higher potential capacities, offering data center operators an alternative low-carbon baseload option.

“Cape Station works because we treated the subsurface like an engineering challenge,” said Jack Norbeck, CTO and co-founder of Fervo Energy. “Years of drilling, completion design, subsurface modeling, and flow testing led to this moment, and this is the validation that matters most. First Power is proof the science works.”

Google has backed Fervo for several years, first throwing its weight behind the company in 2021, partnering on a small-scale pilot project in Nevada, which came online in 2023. After that, the companies inked a 115MW PPA, alongside NV Energy as a utility partner, designed to deliver geothermal power into the Nevada grid.

Since then, Google has also invested directly in the company, leading its Series B funding round last year, where the company successfully raised $462m. InMay, Fervo completed its initial public offering, which saw the company valued at $10bn

Google isn't the only hyperscaler to back geothermal energy. Meta has also signed offtake agreements with two EGS developers in the US. Last year, it signed a deal with Sage Geosystems for 150MW of power from a project under development “east of the Rocky Mountains.” Following this, in June, it signed a 150MW agreement with XGS Energy for a project under development in New Mexico.

Microsoft has also gotten in on the act. In 2023, the tech giant signed a ten-year PPA with Contact Energy for 51MW of power in New Zealand. The company also partnered with G42 to construct a data center in Kenya that will be run exclusively on geothermal energy.