Fervo and Google sign world’s largest deal for next-gen geothermal power

Google has agreed to buy nearly 400 megawatts of power from Fervo Energy's Cape Station project in southwest Utah, the largest deal ever signed for next-generation geothermal power. This technology drills deep into hot, dry rock to tap underground heat for electricity, rather than relying on natural hot springs the way older geothermal plants do. Fervo is spending over $2 billion to build the project, which it says could become the biggest of its kind in the world once finished in 2028.

The first phase of Cape Station, a smaller 100-MW section, is already under construction, with test power expected from part of it later this year. The new Google deal funds a second, larger 400-MW phase due online in about two years. Google plans to use the power for a data center somewhere in Utah, though it hasn't picked a site yet. Google has the option to buy roughly 600 megawatts more from the project by 2030, and separately has first rights to purchase power from other geothermal plants Fervo builds in the future.

For homeowners, this isn't a program or rebate you can tap into directly. It's a sign that geothermal power, which still makes up less than half a percent of U.S. electricity, is drawing serious investment from major tech companies looking for round-the-clock clean power for data centers. As this technology scales up, it could eventually add more clean electricity to the grids that supply homes, though that shift would happen gradually and regionally rather than all at once.