US geothermal company XGS Energy has partnered with energy tech vendor Baker Hughes, with the latter set to provide engineering services for XGS’ planned 150MW geothermal project in New Mexico.

The project is tied to an offtake agreement with Meta, signed last year. When complete, the scheme is expected to provide energy to the Public Service Company of New Mexico’s (PNM) grid in support of Meta’s data center operations in the state.

As part of the agreement, Baker Hughes will provide its "ground-to-grid" geothermal portfolio service to XGS. The service is a comprehensive, end-to-end suite of technologies and services, that integrates advanced subsurface engineering, well construction, and tailored power generation.

The project is XGS' first commercial facility. Last year, the company completed a demonstration project to prove its closed-loop enhanced geothermal system was commercially viable.

XGS enhanced geothermal technology utilizes a sealed pipe within a pipe, which it claims prevents fluids from touching the rock or escaping into the earth. Through this, the company says its system can be deployed more widely as it doesn't rely on groundwater to function.

As a result, XGS contends that it is able to decouple geothermal energy production from historical location-based constraints such as water availability or permeable or porous rock, which in turn opens up new frontiers for geothermal development.

“With this single project for Meta in New Mexico, XGS will increase the state’s operating geothermal capacity by tenfold,” said Ghazal Izadi, XGS' COO. “By aligning our technology with Baker Hughes’s expertise across subsurface, surface, and power solutions – and one of the most capable project delivery teams in the world – we’re demonstrating that XGS has the execution muscle and industrial collaborations required to deliver at scale for our customers.”

Geothermal has become a hot topic amongst hyperscalers in recent years, with several deals signed in the space. In addition to its XGS deal, Meta has also signed a deal with Sage Geosystems for 150MW of power from a project under development “east of the Rocky Mountains.”

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.

Amazon signed its first deal earlier this month, partnering with Nevada-based utility NV Energy to add 100MW of geothermal capacity to its portfolio. The addition will be led by US geothermal discovery firm Zanskar, which earlier this month entered into a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with NV to deliver 100MW of geothermal capacity to the utility. NV has also partnered with Google in Nevada to supply geothermal power under a similar arrangement with Fervo.