Google bets on geothermal to power data centers in Taiwan

Google will add 10 megawatts of geothermal power in Taiwan to its renewable portfolio, the company announced Tuesday, marking the search giant’s first geothermal investment in Asia.

Swedish company Baseload Capital is developing the project through a local subsidiary, which has been mapping the island for geothermal resources since 2019.

It’s not the first geothermal deal for Google. In November, geothermal startup Fervo connected a 3.5-megawatt power plant to the grid as part of an agreement with Google to supply power to its data centers in Nevada.

Geothermal has the potential to provide up to 90 gigawatts of clean, consistent power in the U.S. by 2050. Island hotspots like Taiwan stand poised to generate a significant fraction of their electricity from the Earth’s heat. Taiwan, which sits on the western edge of the Ring of Fire, wants to harness 6 gigawatts of geothermal by 2050.