Fervo Energy signs 396 MW geothermal power deal with Google for Utah data center

On September 1, 2026, geothermal developer Fervo Energy announced a landmark agreement to supply 396 megawatts of clean power to Google from its Cape Station project in Utah starting in 2028. The deal, which includes an option to expand capacity to nearly 1 gigawatt by 2030, sent Fervo shares up by as much as 25%. The contract highlights the surging demand from tech giants for continuous, baseload clean energy to power expanding data centers, contrasting sharply with Europe's lagging geothermal development.

Fervo-Google geothermal power agreement

• ▪Fervo Energy signed an agreement to supply 396 megawatts of geothermal power to Alphabet's Google from its Cape Station project in Utah, with power delivery scheduled to begin in 2028.
• ▪The geothermal power from Fervo Energy's Cape Station project is intended to support Google's potential data center development in Utah, though the specific site remains undetermined and awaits regulatory clearances.
• ▪The agreement gives Google an option to purchase an additional 600 megawatts of geothermal power from Fervo Energy by June 2030, potentially bringing the total capacity to nearly 1 gigawatt.
• ▪Fervo Energy and Google began collaborating through the 3-megawatt Project Red geothermal pilot project in Nevada, which came online in 2023, and later signed a 115-megawatt agreement with NV Energy in 2024.

Data center clean energy demand

• ▪Rising electricity demand from data centers is driving technology corporations to secure around-the-clock clean energy supplies in advance to navigate long interconnection queue timelines.
• ▪Google is diversifying its electricity procurement portfolio by pursuing partnerships with nuclear energy developers and long-duration energy storage providers alongside its geothermal investments.

Cape Station enhanced geothermal project

• ▪Fervo Energy is investing over $2 billion in the Cape Station development in southwestern Utah, aiming to build the world's largest enhanced geothermal energy facility.
• ▪Fervo Energy anticipates starting grid-connected power delivery later in 2026 for the initial construction phase of the Cape Station project.
• ▪Fervo Energy utilizes hydraulic fracturing techniques pioneered in the petroleum industry to construct underground geothermal reservoirs and generate electricity.

Fervo stock market reaction

• ▪Fervo Energy completed its initial public offering in May 2026, raising over $2 billion after previously securing $462 million in private capital from backers including Google and Breakthrough Energy Ventures.
• ▪Fervo Energy shares rose between 14% and 25% in trading on September 1, 2026, following the announcement of the geothermal power contract with Google.

European geothermal capacity comparison

• ▪Geothermal energy supplied 0.5% of the European Union's renewable electricity in 2024, and Europe has no comparable geothermal contracts with hyperscale data center operators.
• ▪Eavor's closed-loop geothermal plant at Geretsried in Bavaria, which produced its first electrons on December 4, 2025, is rated at 8.2 megawatts of electricity and 64 megawatts of heat.
• ▪The nearly 1-gigawatt potential capacity of the Fervo-Google contract is roughly equivalent to the European Union's entire installed net geothermal electricity capacity of about 1 gigawatt in 2022.

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