Meta is the latest tech company to warm to geothermal energy, announcing on Thursday a deal with startup XGS Energy to develop a 150 megawatt geothermal power plant in New Mexico.
XGS Energy has yet to say where it’ll be building the power plant, and Meta wouldn’t disclose specifics about the deal other than to say it’s not yet a contract to purchase power, but rather an agreement “to advance geothermal energy development” in the state, a Meta spokesperson told TechCrunch.
Recently, tech companies, data center developers, and investors have been warming to the technology. Geothermal can generate electricity around the clock without producing emissions, an appealing combination to hyperscalers.
Advanced geothermal, which drills deeper to access hotter rocks, could generate enough electricity in the U.S. to fulfill nearly two-thirds of new data center demand by 2030, according to the Rhodium Group.
Many geothermal startups are pursuing open loop designs, where they inject water down one well and let it flow through cracks in the rock before extracting it from another well. Over time, some of that water is lost to the ground.
XGS Energy, on the other hand, sends water through a closed loop inside a sealed well, minimizing water loss. It also injects a proprietary mud around the outside of the well casing to help transfer more heat from the rocks to the loop.
The partnership between XGS Energy and Meta is the latest in a string of deals racked up by geothermal startups.
On Wednesday, Fervo Energy secured $206 million in financing to continue work on its Cape Station power plant, which, when finished, will be the largest geothermal power plant in the world. The company’s momentum has fueled speculation that it may go public as early as next year.
In April, Google said it was buying 10 megawatts of geothermal from Baseload Capital to power its operations in Taiwan. The search giant also has a deal with Fervo to supply electricity for its Nevada data centers.
XGS Energy raised a $20 million Series A last year to help develop a commercial-scale prototype in California.
