Fervo Energy (FRVO) signed the biggest geothermal deal ever. Google hasn't committed to the data center yet.

Fervo Energy (FRVO) said Tuesday it signed a 396-megawatt power purchase agreement with Google, which Fervo called the world's largest enhanced geothermal agreement to date. The power comes from the Cape Station GeoCluster in Utah and is expected online in 2028. What Google has bought is the electricity, not a building: the release describes the deal as a foundational building block for what it calls a potential data center in Utah, and states that "Final data center plans remain subject to a variety of factors including engineering feasibility, state and local approvals, and commercial conditions." FRVO traded near $19.67 early Tuesday afternoon, up about 28% from Monday's close of $15.38.

The agreement also gives Google an option to expand its offtake by about 600 MW, for a total of nearly 1 gigawatt, by June 2030. That second tranche is an option rather than a commitment, so the contracted figure today is 396 MW.

"This agreement reinforces that EGS is ready to power the next generation of computing infrastructure," said Tim Latimer, chief executive and co-founder of Fervo Energy. Michael Terrell, head of advanced energy at Google, said "The next chapter of advanced power generation technology is being written in Utah."

Enhanced geothermal systems, or EGS, use horizontal drilling and fiber-optic sensing to pull heat from rock that conventional geothermal cannot reach, which is what allows the technique to work outside the handful of naturally suited sites. The output runs around the clock rather than following the sun or the wind, which is the property data center operators are paying for. Fervo signed a 115 MW agreement with Google and NV Energy in June 2024. The Robinhood account this site runs sold half its Fervo position into Tuesday's move, at $19.43. Cape Station started with a 100 MW phase, and Tuesday's deal extends it.