Meta Platforms Signs Geothermal Energy Deal For Data Centers In The US

Illustration of geothermal energy (photo: Doc. pexels)

Jakarta - Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, has signed an agreement to purchase geothermal energy from Sage Geosystems to support their data centers in the United States. The move comes as part of Meta's efforts to build the infrastructure needed to support their large investment in artificial intelligence (AI) that requires high energy.

This geothermal project has a capacity of 150 megawatts and is expected to start operating in 2027. According to Meta, the project will "significantly" expand the use of geothermal energy in the United States. Although the specific location of the project has not yet been determined, the company revealed that the project will be in the east of the Rocky Mountains (Rocky Mountains).

Geothermal energy is a renewable energy source that utilizes heat from within the earth to produce electricity and heat water. The capacity of 150 megawatts is sufficient to supply electricity to around 38,000 houses.

This announcement was made by Meta as part of an event organized by the US Department of Energy regarding geothermal development. President Joe Biden's administration is currently encouraging big technology companies to invest in clean energy plants to meet growing electricity demand.

This energy demand is fueled by the adoption of technologies such as generative artificial intelligence that requires a lot of electricity to run data centers. This trend could complicate Biden's target of decarbonizing the energy sector by 2035 in an effort to combat climate change.

Sage Geosystems, a Houston-based startup, is a new generation of geothermal technology developer that can be applied in more locations than traditional geothermal technology. The company is supported by oil and gas companies such as Chesapeake Energy and Nabors Industries, as well as venture capital firms Virya and Helium-3 Ventures.

The project for Meta will be the biggest project Sage has ever worked on to date. This technology was just validated on the pitch two years ago. A Meta spokesperson revealed that the energy from the Sage Geosystems will flow to the power grid, not directly supplying certain data centers.

Meta has worked hard to update and build infrastructure to accommodate their expansion in generative artificial intelligence over the past few years. This has led to a significant increase in the company's costs.

Last month, Meta estimated their capital expenditures for 2024 would be in the range of 37 billion to 40 billion US dollars, warning that infrastructure costs will continue to be the main driver of cost growth by 2025.