Google Backs Geothermal to Power Taiwan Data Centres

Google has strengthened its clean energy investment in Taiwan with the country’s first corporate power purchase agreements (PPAs) for geothermal energy.

This move, in partnership with energy developer Baseload Capital, directly supports the expansion of energy resilience and sustainability in Taiwan, particularly for energy-intensive industries like data centres.

The agreements mark a step forward in decarbonising Taiwan’s grid and are set to provide consistent power that can underpin digital infrastructure, manufacturing and healthcare.

Adam Elman, Director of Sustainability EMEA at Google, explains: "Taiwan has tremendous untapped geothermal potential, and we’re excited about the role corporate procurement can play to accelerate geothermal projects and bring this 24/7 clean energy resource to Taiwan’s grid."

Supporting always-on energy for data centres

Geothermal energy offers a distinct advantage in the clean energy landscape.

Unlike solar and wind, which are intermittent, geothermal provides stable, round-the-clock output.

This is especially relevant for operations that rely on continuous energy, most notably data centres.

Google's agreement with Baseload Capital brings 10 megawatts (MW) of what it calls “always on” power to Taiwan’s grid.

The company notes this will not only support its own sustainability goals, but also play a role in catalysing a broader geothermal energy market in the region.

Giorgio Fortunato, Head of Clean Energy and Power, Asia Pacific at Google, says: “This partnership with Baseload Capital will add crucial ‘always on’ power to our operations in Taiwan."

In parallel with this geothermal commitment, Google is backing a 1 GW pipeline of solar developments in Taiwan in collaboration with BlackRock’s Climate Infrastructure business.

This combination of consistent geothermal and scalable solar supports Google's plan to operate on 24/7 carbon-free energy across all data centres and campuses by 2030.

Taiwan’s renewable energy goals and limitations

Taiwan’s energy system currently relies heavily on fossil fuels.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) reports that as of 2022, 34.6% of energy in Taiwan comes from coal and 34.2% from oil.

The country aims to reach 20% renewable energy by 2025, but progress has been slowed due to a range of practical barriers.

Developing offshore wind farms has proved difficult, with unclear permitting processes and limited access to corporate PPAs. Solar, too, is restricted by the island’s mountainous geography, which limits available land for large-scale installations.

Despite these challenges, Taiwan’s government has set a target of achieving 40% renewable energy by 2030.

Geothermal power, with its location-specific but consistent availability, could be key to reaching that target.

Geothermal energy generates electricity by harnessing heat from beneath the Earth’s crust.

These resources are concentrated near tectonic plate boundaries, such as the Pacific Ring of Fire, where Taiwan is located. This geographic advantage places Taiwan in a strong position to expand its geothermal output.

Since 2019, Baseload Power Taiwan, a subsidiary of Baseload Capital, has been exploring geothermal resources and working with local authorities to streamline regulation and permitting processes.

These efforts are expected to contribute to Taiwan’s goal of installing 6 GW of geothermal capacity by 2050.

Global geothermal ambitions and data centre implications

Taiwan is not Google’s first geothermal venture.

In 2021, the company signed the world’s first corporate agreement for enhanced geothermal development with Fervo, a clean energy start-up. That Nevada-based project became operational in 2023 and supplies power to data centres in the region.

The firm also collaborates with Project InnerSpace, a non-profit dedicated to global geothermal development. The partnership combines Google’s technological expertise with InnerSpace’s industry-specific knowledge and advocacy.

"For geothermal to grow over the coming decades, we need big players with global scale and breakthrough technological solutions focused on this massive clean energy resource beneath us," says Jamie Beard, Executive Director at Project InnerSpace.

Jamie continues, “By combining the expertise and research portfolio of Project InnerSpace with the technological capabilities and expertise of Google, we are poised to make a fast leap forward for geothermal globally.”

The IEA has projected that geothermal energy could meet 15% of the world’s electricity demand growth by 2050.

Currently, it accounts for less than 1% of global electricity supply, but advances in technology and falling costs are changing that outlook.

For the data centre sector, which is expected to consume ever-larger volumes of electricity in the coming years, consistent and clean baseload power is increasingly necessary.

Google’s investment in geothermal is therefore not only an environmental choice but also a strategic energy decision.

As the energy mix continues to evolve, geothermal’s role as a reliable source could be central to enabling sustainability goals across the digital economy. With projects like these, Taiwan positions itself at the heart of that clean energy transformation.

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