Google has signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Fervo Energy, an enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) firm, for 396MW of power from its Cape Station plant currently under construction in Utah.

The Cape Station GeoCluster, located in Beaver County, Utah, is slated to come online in 2028, with the power expected to serve a potential data center development in Utah. The plant is expected to have a capacity of 500MW, with a possible expansion to more than 1GW.

The PPA will include an option to expand its offtake to 996MW by June 2030. Plans for the data center itself are dependent on engineering feasibility, state and local approvals, and commercial conditions.

“This agreement reinforces that EGS is ready to power the next generation of computing infrastructure,” said Tim Latimer, CEO and co-founder of Fervo Energy.

“As demand for reliable electricity grows, customers like Google need energy resources that can be deployed at scale, operate around the clock, and deliver where power is needed. This new PPA is part of our repeatable commercial model that enables us to meet customer needs and directly deliver clean, firm power to large electricity users. We’re proud to do this work in close partnership with the communities of Southwest Utah and with a partner that upholds our community-first values.”

“The next chapter of advanced power generation technology is being written in Utah,” added Lucia Tian, director of Advanced Energy Technologies at Google.

“This project will drive meaningful economic benefit to the local community and help catalyze long-term energy cost reductions by making enhanced geothermal more affordable and accessible.”

The deal builds on a lasting partnership between the two companies. Google first threw its weight behind Fervo 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.

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

EGS borrows technology and techniques from hydraulic fracking to create permeability in reservoirs that would otherwise be inaccessible to produce commercially viable quantities of geothermal brine. As a result, EGS can access significantly more geothermal potential than conventional practices and achieve much higher capacity factors.

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.