A 2028 power contract shows Google trying to feed AI growth without abandoning its net-zero pledge.
Google just agreed to buy 396 megawatts from a geothermal plant that does not exist yet. The Cape Station facility in Utah is expected to start generating in 2028. Google also holds an option through June 2030 to take another 600 megawatts. The power is earmarked for a data center Google plans to build in the same state.
Google has spent years as one of the largest corporate buyers of wind, solar, and battery storage, backing its pledge to reach net-zero emissions by 2030. That pledge got harder in April, when the company agreed to take 933 megawatts of natural gas from data center developer Crusoe in Texas. Geothermal gives Google a way to keep adding firm capacity without pushing the 2030 target further out of reach.
- Contract size: 396 megawatts from Fervo’s Cape Station plant
- Expansion option: another 600 megawatts, available through June 2030
- Start date: the plant is expected online in 2028
- Site permit: Fervo is cleared for up to 2 gigawatts
Fervo holds permits for up to 2 gigawatts at the site. Sarah Jewett, the company’s senior vice president of strategy, told TechCrunch in May that a third-party engineer put the recoverable heat at roughly double that figure. Four gigawatts would come close to doubling all geothermal generating capacity in the United States, according to a recent Department of Energy report. That same report puts the national ceiling for enhanced geothermal, which drills deeper for hotter rock, at 57 terawatts. If the drilling cooperates, Google’s contract could grow well past a single gigawatt.
The two companies have worked together for more than five years. Google bought some of Fervo’s earliest electricity and invested in the startup’s final private funding round before it went public. Investors have been less patient. Fervo’s stock jumped on its trading debut, then gave back those gains and more over the following months. The Google announcement lifted shares about 30% yesterday, though traders sold into the rally today.
The 600-megawatt option may matter more than the headline number. It lets Google reserve future capacity without paying for power it cannot use yet, and it hands Fervo a credible anchor customer to show lenders while it drills. Utah becomes the proof point. If Cape Station comes online on schedule, the argument that geothermal cannot scale fast enough for AI loses its strongest piece of evidence. The question now is whether Fervo can drill fast enough to make Google’s option worth exercising.
If you are planning compute-heavy roadmaps, this changes the timeline you should assume for clean firm power. Geothermal is no longer a pilot line item; it is a 2028 supply contract with a named plant and a permit. Before you sign another gas-backed hosting deal, ask your provider what firm carbon-free capacity it has under contract, and for which year.
