Google's $10 Billion Geothermal Bet: A Look at the Industry's Future
On September 1, 2026, Google signed a 396-megawatt (MW) power purchase agreement with Fervo Energy, the largest enhanced geothermal systems deal ever signed. This single contract is worth roughly 10% of America's entire installed geothermal power fleet and includes an option to expand toward nearly 1 gigawatt (GW) by June 2030.
The agreement is a significant milestone for Fervo Energy, which priced its initial public offering at $27.00 a share on Nasdaq in May, reaching a roughly $10.2 billion valuation after a 33% first-day pop. The company's stock price surged 23% following the announcement of the Google deal.
Google has made several geothermal commitments over the past three years, including a 3.5 MW pilot in 2023, a 115 MW deal in Nevada in 2024, and up to 150 MW from Ormat in February 2026. With this latest deal, Google's total disclosed geothermal book climbs toward 1.26 GW.
The deal has sparked interest in the potential of enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) to meet growing demand for clean energy. The US Department of Energy's commercial-liftoff scenario targets 2-5 GW deployed across four to six states by 2030, and a longer-dated projection of 90 GW of total US geothermal capacity by 2050.