NEW YORK, June 12 (Reuters) - Meta signed an

agreement with XGS Energy to help develop 150 megawatts of

advanced geothermal electricity in New Mexico to power the

Facebook parent company's artificial intelligence expansion, the

companies said on Thursday.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

Giant technology companies like Meta are striking

unprecedented power deals to secure massive amounts of

electricity for the data centers needed to develop AI, which is

a top driver of the record U.S. power consumption projected for

2025 and 2026.

Geothermal energy, which does not produce climate-warming

carbon emissions, has become a popular source of electricity for

Big Tech companies, many of which have emissions reduction

goals. Unlike conventional geothermal power production, advanced

geothermal does not rely on natural water sources.

Last year, Google announced plans to fuel its data centers

with advanced geothermal power produced by Fervo Energy.

CONTEXT

While 150 megawatts is a tiny fraction of the many gigawatts

of power sought by technology companies to power AI, it would

represent about 4% of total U.S. geothermal production.

New Mexico, which lays claim to a section of the world's

largest shale oil basin, has 160,000 megawatts of untapped

geothermal power generation potential.

The phased-in project between XGS and Meta is projected to

be operational by the end of the decade. The advanced geothermal

electricity will be deployed to the electric grid and support

Meta's operations in the state.

KEY QUOTE

"With next-generation geothermal technologies like XGS ready

for scale, geothermal can be a major player in supporting the

advancement of technologies like AI as well as domestic data

center development," Urvi Parekh, Global Head of Energy at Meta

said in a written statement.

"We're excited to partner with XGS to unlock a new category

of energy supply for our operations in New Mexico," he said.