Google to build 10MW geothermal plant to fuel Taiwan chip dream near China’s doorstep
To supply power to its local data centers and offices, Google has announced its first corporate power purchase agreement (PPA) with global geothermal developer Baseload Capital to develop a geothermal power plant in Taiwan.
This will be Google’s first geothermal power plant in the Asia Pacific region.
The move comes when Google is preparing to partner with Taiwan’s MediaTek to develop the next version of its AI chips, Tensor Processing Units.
10MW geothermal energy
According to a press release by Google, the partnership’s initial projects will add 10 MW of clean energy to the grid, doubling Taiwan’s current geothermal capacity.
Once operational in 2029, the projects will supply capacity to help power local data center operations and offices.
Google said geothermal energy, which taps into underground heat to generate clean electricity, is an “around-the-clock” energy source with significant potential for places like Taiwan.
With its unique geological position along the Pacific Ring of Fire, the company added that Taiwan has access to substantial geothermal resources, offering stable and reliable baseload power to complement variable renewable energy technologies like solar and wind.
Google noted,
This long-term partnership with Baseload Capital, which includes an equity investment in the company, represents our latest step to accelerate the deployment of geothermal as a 24/7 clean energy technology across the Asia Pacific and globally,
“We are working to develop and commercialize the next generation of geothermal technologies through our enhanced geothermal project with Fervo Energy, and to uncover the potential of geothermal around the world with our subsurface data partnership with Project Innerspace. In the Asia-Pacific region, we are also partnering to advance new research into the development of geothermal energy in Australia.”
Google’s AI chip ambitions in Taiwan
Google is currently working with San Jose-based Broadcom to develop AI chips.
However, the company wants to tap Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) for low-cost, premium AI chips.
Google’s partnership with MediaTek is partly because of the strong relationship between the Taiwanese firm and TSMC.
Recently, Google collaborated with TSMC instead of Samsung to produce the first custom Pixel chip, Tensor G5.
According to reports, Google plans to drop the Korean Samsung in favor of TSMC to launch its fully customized Tensor G5 chip in 2025.
The current power project by Google could support its local operations and its ambition to tap Taiwan’s market for next-generation chips.
Since 2019, Baseload Capital’s subsidiary, Baseload Power Taiwan, has been actively conducting local geothermal resource exploration, engaging closely with local communities, and working with the Taiwan government to improve the regulatory and permitting framework for geothermal energy.
Google’s support of these geothermal projects will help build the local workforce and expertise, supply chain, and infrastructure to unlock lower costs and faster deployment of future projects.
According to Google, these projects will also contribute to Taiwan’s goal to install 6 GW of geothermal capacity by 2050.
Google concluded,
Building on our longstanding collaboration with the government and utilities in Taiwan to advance local growth of renewables, we’ll continue to work across these sectors on the market development and innovation needed to now help scale geothermal resources,
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Google to build 10MW geothermal plant to fuel Taiwan chip dream near China’s doorstep, source
