Geothermal Electricity Powers Google Data Centers in Nevada Grid, Offers Potential Solution in Energy Crisis

On November 28, Google announced that its data centers in the Nevada grid are powered by carbon electricity generated by an advanced geothermal project.

Milestone in Energy Generation

Google collaborates with Houston-based Fervo Energy as its partner in this geothermal energy project. According to its CEO, Tim Latimer, getting electrons onto the grid for the first time is a breakthrough many new energy companies have never reached.

Google and Fervo Energy started working together in 2021 to develop next-generation geothermal power. The facility near Winnemucca, Nevada, operates commercially and sends almost 3.5 megawatts to the grid.

Data centers need more electricity than that, so Google also entered into other agreements for solar and storage. Its two sites are located in Nevada, one near Las Vegas and the other near Reno. The tech company also plans to use geothermal energy for other data centers worldwide as a portfolio of carbon-free technologies.

In 2020, Google announced its ambitious goal to use carbon-free energy every hour of every day by 2030. The company was also an early supporter of wind and solar projects, and now that it has set a goal to be 24/7 carbon-free, Google believes that it will take more than just solar, wind, and storage to achieve that goal. To make this possible, a new set of technologies in energy is needed, and the company's deal with Fervo plays a role in taking these technologies to scale.

Fervo also uses this pilot project to launch other endeavors to deliver more carbon-free electricity to the grid. The green energy supplier is currently completing initial drilling in southwest Utah for a 400-megawatt project. Energy experts believe that large companies such as Google can play a crucial role in promoting clean energy.

Enhanced Geothermal Systems

According to the International Energy Agency, geothermal energy could be a serious solution to climate change. In a 2011 roadmap document, the agency reported that by 2050, geothermal projects could reach 3.5% of global electricity generation annually, reducing almost 800 megatonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually.

The U.S. leads the world in using the planet's heat energy to generate electricity. However, geothermal power still accounts for less than half a percent of the country's total utility-scale electricity generation. In 2022, geothermal energy was supplied by New Mexico, Idaho, Oregon, Hawaii, Utah, Nevada, and California. These states were traditionally thought of as having potential for geothermal power because of the steam reservoirs in the West.

According to Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, advances in enhanced geothermal systems will help introduce this energy form in regions previously thought impossible. The department claims that the U.S. has the potential to generate 90 gigawatts of geothermal electricity, which is equivalent energy that can power over 65 million American homes.

The U.S. was transformed into a top oil and gas producer and exporter during the shale boom. Since then, drilling technology and practices drastically improved, although there has been little technology transfer from the oil and gas industry to geothermal.