The New Energy Frontier: Quaise Energy’s Superhot Geothermal Gambit in Oregon By Alphaxioms Editorial Team | September 4, 2026 In the high desert of Central Oregon, a project with implications far beyond Deschutes County is taking shape. Quaise Energy, now backed by a total of $280 million in funding, is advancing Project Obsidian, which it describes as the world’s first commercial superhot geothermal power plant . The company says the first phase is designed to deliver 50 MW by 2030, with a pathway toward 250 MW and ultimately more than 1 GW . Before the first megawatt reaches the grid, however, the project faces a local policy test: whether Deschutes County should grant a five-year property tax abatement under Oregon’s Rural Renewable Energy Development Zone Program. That decision is more than a routine incentive request. It is a referendum on how rural counties choose to support next-generation energy infrastructure and whether older incentive frameworks can accommodate a technolog...
Amazon’s First Geothermal Deal Signals a New Era for AI Data Centers in Nevada By: Robert Buluma Amazon’s entry into geothermal energy through a landmark partnership with Nevada utility NV Energy marks a major turning point in how hyperscale data centers are powered in the United States. The agreement, centered in the Reno region, is more than a corporate clean-energy procurement—it represents a structural shift toward 24/7 carbon-free electricity for AI-driven infrastructure. At its core, the deal combines geothermal baseload energy, large-scale solar generation, and battery energy storage into a unified system designed to power one of the fastest-growing data center hubs in North America: the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center. This is Amazon’s first formal entry into geothermal energy, placing it alongside other major technology companies that are increasingly investing in firm renewable energy sources to support artificial intelligence workloads. The Core Agreement: 700MW ...