Meta’s Plans to Advance Geothermal Energy with XGS Energy
Eager to expand the frontiers of reliable baseload geothermal energy, Meta has signed an agreement with XGS Energy to develop 150MW of geothermal capacity in New Mexico.
The agreement marks the latest energy initiative by Meta, which is one of the world’s largest corporate buyers of clean energy – and adds to a series of recent advancements at XGS, as the company scales to deliver on a multi-gigawatt global pipeline.
It also demonstrates the critical role XGS will play in rapidly delivering reliable electricity in order to meet growing energy demands.
“We’re pleased to support Meta’s ambitious AI objectives and accelerate access to new round-the-clock power supplies,” says Josh Prueher, CEO at XGS Energy.
“More broadly, the state of New Mexico is a growing hub for data centre development. We are eager to feed clean, water-independent geothermal power into the New Mexico market at a scale uniquely possible with XGS technology.”
Advancing renewables to support ‘cleaner’ data centre development
XGS Energy’s geothermal technology is designed to enable geothermal power production with zero operating water use.
In this instance, it will be deployed to the PNM electric grid and support Meta’s data centre operations in New Mexico to demonstrate that data centre energy demands can be met with clean power that is water-independent.
The company says its decoupling of geothermal energy production from historical location-based constraints like water availability could open new frontiers for geothermal energy development.
- Provides clean, round-the-clock energy
- Solid-state geothermal system uses thermally conductive materials to deliver affordable energy
- Decouples geothermal energy production from its historical dependence on natural water resources and geological conditions
New Mexico is located alongside some of the best hot rock resources in the US and only has one operating geothermal power plant.
The geographic flexibility of XGS enables direct production of electricity from hot and dry rock resources. This project therefore means that XGS is able to increase the total geothermal electricity produced in New Mexico by a factor of ten.
“New Mexico is not only the second-largest oil and gas producer in the US, but also one of the nation’s leading sources of clean energy,” explains Gov. Lujan Grisham. “We’ve worked hard to ensure New Mexico remains at the forefront of the energy transition, and geothermal energy represents a promising new frontier.
She adds: “Project InnerSpace’s report outlines both the scale of New Mexico’s geothermal potential and practical steps to develop it. XGS Energy and Meta’s 150 MW project will create good-paying jobs, strengthen our grid with reliable baseload power and position our state as a national leader in next-generation renewable energy.”
Meta eager to achieve sustainability progress
Data centres require a lot of water in order to keep their servers cool and from overheating. Currently, according to Lenovo, the average data centre uses roughly 300,000 gallons of water a day to keep cool – the equivalent to water use in 100,000 homes.
“We’re proud to support this innovative, carbon-free project from Meta and XGS Energy. This project is a meaningful step toward meeting New Mexico’s clean energy goals and demonstrates the power of advanced technology to shape our energy future.”
Meta has been significantly ramping up its AI and cloud efforts in recent months, having recently planned to invest nearly US$1bn into a new data centre in Wisconsin.
The technology giant is investing heavily into this type of infrastructure to remain competitive in the industry, whilst also future-proofing its platforms to meet continued demands for cloud-powered services.
However, the company also states it recognises its role to deliver sustainable and responsible operations, which includes reducing its emissions and energy and water used to power its data centres.
As part of this collaboration with XGS, the two-phased 150MW agreement will include an initial smaller phase and a second, larger phase, both projected to be operational by 2030.
Both phases will be sited in New Mexico on the PNM electric grid.
“Advances in AI require continued energy to support infrastructure development,” says Urvi Parekh, Global Head of Energy at Meta. “With next-generation geothermal technologies like XGS ready for scale, geothermal can be a major player in supporting the advancement of technologies like AI as well as domestic data centre development.
“We’re excited to partner with XGS to unlock a new category of energy supply for our operations in New Mexico.”
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