Enhanced geothermal company Fervo Energy struck a 396-megawatt power purchase agreement with Google, the largest geothermal PPA ever recorded, according to a Sept. 2, 2026 report from Utility Dive. Google plans to use the power as a foundational element for a potential data center in Utah. The deal highlights the growing scarcity of baseload power for AI infrastructure and marks a major expansion of the multi-year partnership between the two companies.
The agreement includes an option for Google to expand its power offtake by roughly 600 MW, which would bring the total to nearly 1 gigawatt by June 2030, the report states. The PPA increases contracted revenue across Fervo's portfolio by approximately 65%, according to financial services firm William Blair. Final data center plans remain contingent on engineering feasibility, state and local approvals, and commercial conditions. The deal will support continued development of Fervo's Cape Station enhanced geothermal project in southwestern Utah, expected to come online in 2028. Fervo's stock has struggled recently, down 49% from initial highs following the company's May IPO, the report notes.
In a Tuesday research note, William Blair said the agreement "strengthens our belief that Fervo's enhanced geothermal systems provide a critical solution to address our 'baseload imperative' thesis by delivering firm, dispatchable power to fuel AI data centers." The analysts characterized the recent issue with Fervo's stock as "one of confidence." Fervo CEO Tim Latimer said on Sept. 1, 2026, that the company's "multi-year partnership with Google" has been important for its growth. Still, William Blair noted that baseload power remains scarce and Fervo represents a relatively inexpensive way for investors to gain exposure to baseload power.
The partnership builds on years of collaboration that began with a 2021 corporate agreement to develop next-generation geothermal power. Fervo launched Project Red, a Nevada commercial pilot, which came online in 2023 and began delivering power to the local grid, including Google's data centers in the state. Google and NV Energy signed a 115-MW PPA with Fervo in June 2024, and Google participated in Fervo's $462 million Series E funding round in December 2025. Fervo's strategy involves deploying repeatable "GeoBlocks," standardized 50-MW units of geothermal energy, to form larger "GeoClusters." However, the company is currently in a heavy investment phase, and its second-quarter earnings call highlighted new but temporary transmission-related curtailment issues for 2027.
Key risks remain for the project, according to William Blair, including first-of-a-kind execution at Cape Phase I, interconnection bottlenecks, capital intensity, and competing technology paths. The Cape Station project is located near the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Geothermal Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy. Despite the challenges, the deal underscores the critical need for firm, dispatchable power to support the rapid expansion of AI data centers and positions enhanced geothermal systems as a potential solution to the baseload power shortage.