Google has signed its first corporate Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for a geothermal project in the APAC region. The search giant entered a 10MW PPA with Baseload Capital in Taiwan. Google said the long-term PPA is meant to stimulate the geothermal market in the region and involves a direct equity investment in Baseload. Neither the duration of the PPA or investment in Baseload was disclosed. Baseload is an energy investment firm headquartered in Stockholm and invests in and develops geothermal heat and power plants around the world.
It has been in the Taiwanese market since 2019 through its subsidiary Baseload Power Taiwan.In 2020, Baseload commenced drilling on its first geothermal project in the city of Hualien, which is located about 200km (124.2 miles) from Taipei, although it remains in the drilling phase. When completed, the project is expected to produce 2MW of power. The company lists four other projects "ongoing" on its website. Baseload also has a presence in Japan, where it started operations in 2018.
Taiwan is home to a growing geothermal sector. Due to its geographic location on the Pacific Ring of Fire, Taiwan holds substantial geothermal potential, with estimates conducting studies estimating the potential to be 30 to 60 GW of power. So far, Taiwan currently has about 7 MW of operational capacity from 5 projects. The government cited a goal of 6 GW of installed geothermal capacity by 2050 and a goal to develop 20 MW of cumulative geothermal capacity by 2025. The agreement is the latest in a line for Google, who has emerged as a significant advocate of geothermal energy within the data center industry.