Today we’re speaking with Dominic Jainy, an IT professional whose expertise lies at the intersection of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and the real-world infrastructure required to power them. As AI continues to reshape industries, the conversation has shifted dramatically toward its enormous energy appetite. We’ll be diving into a pioneering partnership in Nevada that leverages geothermal energy to meet this demand, exploring the innovative financial frameworks that make it possible, the unique advantages of this power source, and what the future of energy for digital infrastructure might look like.
The partnership between Google, Ormat, and NV Energy leverages a Clean Transition Tariff for a 150 MW geothermal expansion. Could you explain how this tariff functions and what specific mechanisms ensure costs are allocated only to participating customers while strengthening grid reliability for everyone?
The Clean Transition Tariff, or CTT, is a really elegant financial framework designed for exactly this kind of large-scale, clean energy investment. Think of it as a dedicated lane on the energy highway. A major user like Google can partner with a utility, in this case NV Energy, to bring a new clean power source online. The mechanism ensures that all the costs associated with developing and integrating that new power—the full 150 MW of geothermal capacity—are covered directly by the participating customer. It completely insulates other ratepayers from any financial impact, so your average residential customer in Nevada won’t see their bill change because of this project. At the same time, by injecting a significant amount of stable, reliable power onto the grid, it strengthens the entire system for everyone, which is a fantastic co-benefit.
With the rising electricity demands of AI, geothermal is often cited as a uniquely reliable, carbon-free power source. What operational attributes make geothermal a better fit for data centers than intermittent renewables, and what metrics can illustrate its advantages for supporting such critical infrastructure?
That’s the critical point—AI is relentless. Its computational demands don’t stop when the sun goes down or the wind stops blowing. This is where geothermal’s “clean-firm” nature becomes its superpower. Unlike solar or wind, geothermal energy harnesses the constant heat from the Earth’s core, allowing it to generate electricity 24/7, 365 days a year. It’s a baseload power source that is both carbon-free and incredibly reliable. For a data center, which is essentially a factory that cannot afford to shut down, this is non-negotiable. The key metric here is availability. While other renewables might have a capacity factor of 25-40%, geothermal can operate well above 90%, providing the constant, predictable power needed to run servers, HVAC systems, and other critical equipment without a single hiccup.
This project faces a significant timeline, with regulatory review expected in the second half of 2026 and initial operations targeted for 2028. Can you walk us through the critical path from gaining commission approval to a new geothermal plant delivering its first megawatt of power?
The path from approval to power-on is a multi-year journey involving immense logistical and engineering efforts. Once the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada gives the green light, the real work begins. The first phase is development, where Ormat will build out a portfolio of geothermal projects across the state. This involves extensive site preparation, drilling deep into the earth to access the heat reservoirs, and constructing the power plant itself. The initial target is to have the first project delivering power by 2028. Following that, there will be a continued rollout of additional capacity, with more projects coming online through 2030 to reach that full 150 MW target. It’s a carefully staged process, ensuring each phase is executed correctly before the next one begins.
Beyond this deal, companies like Meta are also exploring geothermal, and experts point to the potential of Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS). How does EGS fundamentally change the scalability of geothermal energy, and what key technological or regulatory breakthroughs are needed to unlock its potential?
Enhanced Geothermal Systems are a genuine game-changer for the industry’s scale. Traditional geothermal has always been limited by geography; you had to find a naturally occurring hot-water reservoir to tap into. EGS breaks that limitation. It allows us to engineer these underground heat reservoirs ourselves, essentially creating a geothermal resource where one didn’t naturally exist. This fundamentally expands the potential footprint of geothermal from niche locations to vast new regions. The long-term potential is staggering, with some experts estimating it in the hundreds of gigawatts. To unlock this, the key breakthroughs needed are twofold. Technologically, we need to continue refining the drilling and reservoir-creation techniques. On the regulatory side, as the US government has already started to recognize, we need streamlined permitting processes that can support the rapid development required to meet the energy demands of AI infrastructure.
What is your forecast for geothermal energy’s role in powering the data center industry over the next decade?
I believe we are at the beginning of a major geothermal renaissance, driven almost entirely by the insatiable power demands of AI and the data center industry. Over the next decade, geothermal will transition from being a niche, geographically-limited renewable to a cornerstone of the industry’s power strategy. As technologies like EGS mature and permitting becomes more efficient, we will see geothermal projects become a standard, go-to solution for providing the clean, reliable, 24/7 power that AI workloads require. It’s one of the very few resources that checks all the boxes—carbon-free, firm, and scalable—making its role not just important, but essential for the sustainable growth of digital infrastructure.