Fervo, Google Sign 396 MW Geothermal Deal for Utah Data Center
Google signed a 396 MW geothermal PPA with Fervo Energy's Cape Station in Utah, with an option to expand to nearly 1 GW by 2030 for a data center.
Google has signed a 396-megawatt power purchase agreement with Fervo Energy, buying output from the Cape Station enhanced geothermal project in southwestern Utah, with the electricity earmarked to serve a potential Google data center in the state. Fervo and Google announced the deal September 1, calling it the largest enhanced geothermal PPA signed to date. Power is expected online in 2028, and Google holds an option to expand its offtake by roughly 600 MW, for a total near 1 gigawatt, by June 2030.
Why it matters
Power availability, not land or entitlements, is now the binding constraint on where hyperscalers will put the next generation of data center campuses. A developer can assemble acreage and clear zoning in months; getting firm, always-on power to a site can take years given interconnection queues stretched across most of the country. Google’s move to contract enhanced geothermal, a technology that produces steady baseload rather than the intermittent output of wind or solar, signals that hyperscalers are willing to pay a premium for reliability over speed to power. For developers chasing data center tenants, that shifts the site-selection question from “can we get grid capacity approved” to “can we point to a contracted power source that will actually deliver on day one.”
The numbers
The PPA covers 396 MW from Fervo’s Cape Station GeoCluster in Utah, with power expected online in 2028. Google’s option would grow the deal to nearly 1 GW by June 2030. Fervo and Google describe it as the largest enhanced geothermal power purchase agreement signed anywhere to date.
What’s next
Cape Station still has to hit its 2028 online date, and Google’s expansion option gives both sides through mid-2030 to decide whether the full 1 GW gets exercised. Developers tracking data center site selection in the Mountain West and beyond should watch whether other hyperscalers follow Google into enhanced geothermal PPAs, since a second major buyer would confirm this as a repeatable power-sourcing model rather than a one-off deal. More national power and data center coverage.