Google, Silicon Valley Tap Geothermal for Data-Center Power

---

Written by Paul Wiseman for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Data centers account for about 2% of U.S. power grid demand--and that number is expected to hit 9% as soon as 2030. Should that kind of load strain the grid, especially when added to the growing demand for electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, it would be bad for all parties--people and businesses depending on it, and the data centers that are part of the demand growth.

It is no surprise, then, that tech giants like Google parent Alphabet Incorporated (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (Mountain View, California) are looking to do two things: limit dependence on the grid, and to improve their carbon footprint and ESG scores.

To that end Google, which is one of the most valuable companies in the world, recently announced an agreement to help develop and use geothermal power for data centers in Nevada, a state that is already a leader in geothermal development.

Google entered into an agreement with NV Energy (Las Vegas) to provide geothermal power to the company's Nevada data centers. NV Energy is a public utility company owned by Berkshire Hathaway Energy (NYSE:BRK.A) (Omaha, Nebraska). Assuming approval from state utility regulators, the deal will increase the grid's geothermal input from the current 3.5 megawatts (MW) to about 115 MW by around 2030.

While regulatory issues require electricity users to contract with utilities, hence the NV Energy agreement, Google's actual source will be Fervo Energy (Houston), a geothermal development company with whom the tech giant began a partnership in 2022.

To begin the project, Fervo dug two horizontal wells using procedures honed over the last 20 years in the oil and gas industry. Then it installed fiber optic cable to monitor real-time flow, temperature and performance of the system. Fervo's process is advertised as being able to harvest geothermal heat that is not economically available with other procedures.

Greening the Cloud
As Big Tech looks to green up its footprint, perhaps its biggest dilemma revolves around how to keep its massive acres of computers running 24/7, when green power leaders wind and solar are notoriously intermittent. Adding batteries can help, but it will be years before enough can be installed to make a significant impact. Plus, even with extensive battery backup, a time of extended clouds or calm could still run them dry.

Geothermal, on the other hand, is always available--the earth's core has been emitting heat for millions of years--and harvesting it requires almost no farmland.

In California's Silicon Valley--perhaps the capital of Big Tech--geothermal and batteries are a hot topic for energy supplies. Due to the static level of data center power use--unlike residential or commercial, it doesn't rise and fall depending on who's home and who's at work--it's impossible to factor in any load sharing, according to Silicon Valley Power (SVP), quoted on datacenterdynamics.com.

The huge amount of power required by data centers such as Google's in Nevada all comes online instantly when the center powers up, creating what SVP calls "lumpy load growth," a sudden amount of load that makes it hard to manage the grid.

The combination of EV growth (expected to triple in the region by 2030) with data centers makes strengthening the grid and its baseload power essential. For SVP, a $2.5 million battery project's cost ballooned to $5 million recently, and due to funding shortfalls, the entire project was cancelled.

Figures show that California has about 3.3 gigawatts (GW) of potential geothermal power, and about 15% of the 2.3 GW that is not specifically set to go to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) Mid-Term Reliability Clean Firm order, would be available to SVP.

The site quotes SVP on baseload as follows: "Therefore, SVP's future portfolio requires both clean resources and firm resources that can ensure there is enough energy to meet system load in all hours." To support all this, SVP will use a mixture of "solar, wind, storage and geothermal resources."

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).