Baker Hughes, CTR Have Agreements for 500 MW of Geothermal in California

Baker Hughes, an energy technology company, and Controlled Thermal Resources (CTR) have entered into definitive agreements to collaborate on the development of up to 500 MW of baseload geothermal power at CTR’s Hell’s Kitchen project in Imperial County, California.

The staged development, announced September 9, will deliver baseload geothermal energy at scale, providing reliable power for hyperscale data centers and artificial intelligence infrastructure.

“America’s digital economy is at an inflection point,” said Rod Colwell, CEO of CTR. “Hyperscale data center and AI demands are surging, but they cannot run on intermittent renewables. The Hell’s Kitchen project will provide 500 MW of baseload energy to meet this demand. Baker Hughes has built its reputation on delivering world-class services and is blazing a trail to advance geothermal development in the United States. Their proven technologies and disciplined execution are game changers for our growing industry, and combined with CTR’s development expertise at the Salton Sea, we are setting new benchmarks for reliable and resilient power infrastructure.”

Under the terms of the agreements, Baker Hughes will deploy high-temperature drilling technologies, power systems, and digital field services to bring scalable, cost-effective, and high-reliability geothermal energy to market. With more than 40 years of experience, Baker Hughes efficiently taps into this clean, renewable energy source, leveraging specialized technologies and a fully integrated approach from subsurface to surface.

“Baker Hughes is proud to work with CTR on this pioneering project to provide the technologies, advanced drilling systems, digital services, and subsurface expertise to help ensure geothermal is available at an industrial scale,” said Maria Claudia Borras, Chief Growth & Experience Officer at Baker Hughes. “Together with CTR’s project leadership, we aim to deliver one of the largest baseload renewable energy projects in the United States, providing the dependable lower-carbon energy that hyperscale operators demand.”

As digital capacities accelerate, hyperscale data center operators face one of their greatest challenges: securing dependable, low-carbon power. Unlike intermittent renewables, geothermal energy runs at capacity factors above 98%, making it uniquely suited to power AI clusters and data centers that require uninterrupted operations.

With the flexibility to accommodate data center development onsite and provide ‘behind-meter’ power, Hell’s Kitchen will rank among the most significant baseload renewable energy projects in the United States, positioning California at the forefront of AI-ready infrastructure.

“California continues to build more clean energy, faster – creating thousands of good paying jobs and lifting up communities,” said Gov. Gavin Newsom. “Together with partners like Controlled Thermal Resources, we’re advancing a vision for Lithium Valley that promises to become a global source of critical minerals while also powering a new economic boom for the region.”

—POWER edited this content, which was contributed by the communications team for CTR.