Google wants to inject over 100MW of additional geothermal energy into Nevada’s power grid to help supply its data centers in the state.

The search giant has agreed a new type of power supply deal with Nevada utility company NV Energy. Dubbed a “clean transition tariff," it will see NV Energy procure 115MW of renewable energy from a geothermal power plant run by Fervo Energy.

Under the CTT, this will then be supplied directly to Google to run its data centers. The agreement must be approved by the state energy regulator.

Google claims the CTT will help accelerate the clean energy transition by providing companies like NV Energy with the up-front funds to invest in new technologies. It differs from a traditional power purchase agreement (PPA), where data center operators like Google procure clean energy directly from producers and provide it to the grid to offset their emissions.

In a joint blog post on the deal, Amanda Peterson Corio, Google’s global head of data center energy, and Briana Kobor, head of energy market innovation, said: “Technologies, like enhanced geothermal, long-duration energy storage and advanced nuclear power, are early-stage, relatively costly and poorly incentivized by current regulatory structures. As a result, customers often still rely on fossil fuels for reliable power when solar and wind aren’t available.

“To access the benefits of 24/7 carbon free energy technologies and meet the growing needs of local grids, we need a new approach that makes it easier to invest in clean energy projects that provide firm capacity to the grid.”

Fervo already has a standard PPA in place with Google to supply 3.5MW of geothermal energy, which was announced last year.

Doug Cannon, president and CEO of NV Energy described the new partnership as “remarkable.”

“This innovative proposal will not be paid for by NV Energy’s other customers but will help ensure all our customers benefit from cleaner, greener energy resources,” Cannon said.

"If approved, it provides a blueprint for other utilities and large customers in Nevada to accelerate clean energy goals. We look forward to progressing this proposal through the regulatory process to approval and look forward to sharing this with other customers to advance the additional economic opportunities it can bring to our State.”

Last month, another energy supplier, Duke Energy, said it had signed a CTT with Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and steel company Nucor to help fund renewable energy development in North and South Carolina.