This enhanced geothermal project aims to unlock gigawatts of power to fuel the data center boom

A drill rig stands at a Fervo Energy geothermal site under construction near Milford, Utah, Nov. 26, 2023.Ellen Schmidt | APMILFORD, Utah — Deep in the Utah desert, down miles of gravel roads and hours from a major city, Fervo Energy bets it can economically harness heat from the Earth's core for power, potentially unlocking dozens of gigawatts of baseload, emissions-free electricity at a time when U.S. power demand is meaningfully growing for the first time in decades.Geothermal power is not new. Traditionally, it required specific geological formations, vastly limiting its potential. Now, Fervo aims to prove that, by utilizing the same drilling and hydraulic fracturing techniques developed by the oil and gas industry, what's known as enhanced geothermal can become a key power source for the U.S. The company's Cape Station project in Milford is on track to send power to the grid next month, which would make it the first enhanced geothermal system in the U.S. to reach commercial operation. After an initial public offering in May and a new offtake agreement with Google, Fervo must prove it can provide cost-competitive enhanced geothermal at scale.A transformation in the demand for p...