Google Lands Record-Breaking Geothermal Power Deal with Fervo Energy
Fervo Energy has announced a significant partnership with Google, signing a power purchase agreement (PPA) for 396 megawatts of enhanced geothermal power. This deal is the largest-ever geothermal PPA and will enable Google to use this power as a foundational building block for a potential data center in Utah.
The PPA includes an option for Google to expand its off-take by approximately 600 MW, bringing the total to nearly 1 gigawatt by June 2030. Final data center plans are subject to various factors including engineering feasibility, state and local approvals, and commercial conditions.
Financial services company William Blair has noted that this deal increases contracted revenue across Fervo's portfolio by about 65%, strengthening their belief in the critical solution provided by enhanced geothermal systems to address the baseload imperative thesis. The company expects its Cape Station project to come online in 2028 and is currently in a heavy investment phase.
However, analysts have highlighted key risks including first-of-a-kind execution at Cape Phase I, interconnection bottlenecks, capital intensity, and competing technology paths. Fervo's stock has recently struggled, down 49% from initial highs following the company's May IPO, with confidence being a major issue.