diff --git a/lib/datasource/terraform-provider/__fixtures__/releaseBackendIndex.json b/lib/datasource/terraform-provider/__fixtures__/releaseBackendIndex.json
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000000..a5cd75cb8425e8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/datasource/terraform-provider/__fixtures__/releaseBackendIndex.json
@@ -0,0 +1,103 @@
+{
+  "terraform-provider-google-beta": {
+    "name": "terraform-provider-google-beta",
+    "versions": {
+      "1.19.0": {
+        "name": "terraform-provider-google-beta",
+        "version": "1.19.0",
+        "shasums": "terraform-provider-google-beta_1.19.0_SHA256SUMS",
+        "shasums_signature": "terraform-provider-google-beta_1.19.0_SHA256SUMS.sig",
+        "builds": [
+          {
+            "name": "terraform-provider-google-beta",
+            "version": "1.19.0",
+            "os": "darwin",
+            "arch": "amd64",
+            "filename": "terraform-provider-google-beta_1.19.0_darwin_amd64.zip",
+            "url": "https://releases.hashicorp.com/terraform-provider-google-beta/1.19.0/terraform-provider-google-beta_1.19.0_darwin_amd64.zip"
+          },
+          {
+            "name": "terraform-provider-google-beta",
+            "version": "1.19.0",
+            "os": "freebsd",
+            "arch": "386",
+            "filename": "terraform-provider-google-beta_1.19.0_freebsd_386.zip",
+            "url": "https://releases.hashicorp.com/terraform-provider-google-beta/1.19.0/terraform-provider-google-beta_1.19.0_freebsd_386.zip"
+          },
+          {
+            "name": "terraform-provider-google-beta",
+            "version": "1.19.0",
+            "os": "freebsd",
+            "arch": "amd64",
+            "filename": "terraform-provider-google-beta_1.19.0_freebsd_amd64.zip",
+            "url": "https://releases.hashicorp.com/terraform-provider-google-beta/1.19.0/terraform-provider-google-beta_1.19.0_freebsd_amd64.zip"
+          }
+        ]
+      },
+      "1.20.0": {
+        "name": "terraform-provider-google-beta",
+        "version": "1.20.0",
+        "shasums": "terraform-provider-google-beta_1.20.0_SHA256SUMS",
+        "shasums_signature": "terraform-provider-google-beta_1.20.0_SHA256SUMS.sig",
+        "builds": [
+          {
+            "name": "terraform-provider-google-beta",
+            "version": "1.20.0",
+            "os": "openbsd",
+            "arch": "386",
+            "filename": "terraform-provider-google-beta_1.20.0_openbsd_386.zip",
+            "url": "https://releases.hashicorp.com/terraform-provider-google-beta/1.20.0/terraform-provider-google-beta_1.20.0_openbsd_386.zip"
+          },
+          {
+            "name": "terraform-provider-google-beta",
+            "version": "1.20.0",
+            "os": "openbsd",
+            "arch": "amd64",
+            "filename": "terraform-provider-google-beta_1.20.0_openbsd_amd64.zip",
+            "url": "https://releases.hashicorp.com/terraform-provider-google-beta/1.20.0/terraform-provider-google-beta_1.20.0_openbsd_amd64.zip"
+          },
+          {
+            "name": "terraform-provider-google-beta",
+            "version": "1.20.0",
+            "os": "solaris",
+            "arch": "amd64",
+            "filename": "terraform-provider-google-beta_1.20.0_solaris_amd64.zip",
+            "url": "https://releases.hashicorp.com/terraform-provider-google-beta/1.20.0/terraform-provider-google-beta_1.20.0_solaris_amd64.zip"
+          }
+        ]
+      },
+      "2.0.0": {
+        "name": "terraform-provider-google-beta",
+        "version": "2.0.0",
+        "shasums": "terraform-provider-google-beta_2.0.0_SHA256SUMS",
+        "shasums_signature": "terraform-provider-google-beta_2.0.0_SHA256SUMS.sig",
+        "builds": [
+          {
+            "name": "terraform-provider-google-beta",
+            "version": "2.0.0",
+            "os": "darwin",
+            "arch": "amd64",
+            "filename": "terraform-provider-google-beta_2.0.0_darwin_amd64.zip",
+            "url": "https://releases.hashicorp.com/terraform-provider-google-beta/2.0.0/terraform-provider-google-beta_2.0.0_darwin_amd64.zip"
+          },
+          {
+            "name": "terraform-provider-google-beta",
+            "version": "2.0.0",
+            "os": "freebsd",
+            "arch": "386",
+            "filename": "terraform-provider-google-beta_2.0.0_freebsd_386.zip",
+            "url": "https://releases.hashicorp.com/terraform-provider-google-beta/2.0.0/terraform-provider-google-beta_2.0.0_freebsd_386.zip"
+          },
+          {
+            "name": "terraform-provider-google-beta",
+            "version": "2.0.0",
+            "os": "freebsd",
+            "arch": "amd64",
+            "filename": "terraform-provider-google-beta_2.0.0_freebsd_amd64.zip",
+            "url": "https://releases.hashicorp.com/terraform-provider-google-beta/2.0.0/terraform-provider-google-beta_2.0.0_freebsd_amd64.zip"
+          }
+        ]
+      }
+    }
+  }
+}
diff --git a/lib/datasource/terraform-provider/__snapshots__/index.spec.ts.snap b/lib/datasource/terraform-provider/__snapshots__/index.spec.ts.snap
index d52991debb8f1f..577c59d31c1a48 100644
--- a/lib/datasource/terraform-provider/__snapshots__/index.spec.ts.snap
+++ b/lib/datasource/terraform-provider/__snapshots__/index.spec.ts.snap
@@ -1,5 +1,48 @@
 // Jest Snapshot v1, https://goo.gl/fbAQLP
 
+exports[`datasource/terraform getReleases processes data with alternative backend 1`] = `
+Object {
+  "name": "hashicorp/google-beta",
+  "releases": Array [
+    Object {
+      "version": "1.19.0",
+    },
+    Object {
+      "version": "1.20.0",
+    },
+    Object {
+      "version": "2.0.0",
+    },
+  ],
+  "versions": Object {},
+}
+`;
+
+exports[`datasource/terraform getReleases processes data with alternative backend 2`] = `
+Array [
+  Object {
+    "headers": Object {
+      "accept": "application/json",
+      "accept-encoding": "gzip, deflate",
+      "host": "registry.terraform.io",
+      "user-agent": "https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate",
+    },
+    "method": "GET",
+    "url": "https://registry.terraform.io/v1/providers/hashicorp/google-beta",
+  },
+  Object {
+    "headers": Object {
+      "accept": "application/json",
+      "accept-encoding": "gzip, deflate",
+      "host": "releases.hashicorp.com",
+      "user-agent": "https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate",
+    },
+    "method": "GET",
+    "url": "https://releases.hashicorp.com/index.json",
+  },
+]
+`;
+
 exports[`datasource/terraform getReleases processes real data 1`] = `
 Object {
   "homepage": "https://registry.terraform.io/providers/hashicorp/azurerm",
@@ -233,6 +276,16 @@ Array [
     "method": "GET",
     "url": "https://registry.terraform.io/v1/providers/hashicorp/azurerm",
   },
+  Object {
+    "headers": Object {
+      "accept": "application/json",
+      "accept-encoding": "gzip, deflate",
+      "host": "releases.hashicorp.com",
+      "user-agent": "https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate",
+    },
+    "method": "GET",
+    "url": "https://releases.hashicorp.com/index.json",
+  },
 ]
 `;
 
@@ -248,6 +301,16 @@ Array [
     "method": "GET",
     "url": "https://registry.terraform.io/v1/providers/hashicorp/azurerm",
   },
+  Object {
+    "headers": Object {
+      "accept": "application/json",
+      "accept-encoding": "gzip, deflate",
+      "host": "releases.hashicorp.com",
+      "user-agent": "https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate",
+    },
+    "method": "GET",
+    "url": "https://releases.hashicorp.com/index.json",
+  },
 ]
 `;
 
@@ -263,5 +326,17 @@ Array [
     "method": "GET",
     "url": "https://registry.terraform.io/v1/providers/hashicorp/azurerm",
   },
+  Object {
+    "headers": Object {
+      "accept": "application/json",
+      "accept-encoding": "gzip, deflate",
+      "host": "releases.hashicorp.com",
+      "user-agent": "https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate",
+    },
+    "method": "GET",
+    "url": "https://releases.hashicorp.com/index.json",
+  },
 ]
 `;
+
+exports[`datasource/terraform getReleases simulate failing secondary release source 1`] = `null`;
diff --git a/lib/datasource/terraform-provider/index.spec.ts b/lib/datasource/terraform-provider/index.spec.ts
index 4456859da2a7d8..e4e37cc9b1f578 100644
--- a/lib/datasource/terraform-provider/index.spec.ts
+++ b/lib/datasource/terraform-provider/index.spec.ts
@@ -1,13 +1,17 @@
 import fs from 'fs';
 import { getPkgReleases } from '..';
 import * as httpMock from '../../../test/httpMock';
-import { id as datasource } from '.';
+import { id as datasource, defaultRegistryUrls } from '.';
 
 const consulData: any = fs.readFileSync(
   'lib/datasource/terraform-provider/__fixtures__/azurerm-provider.json'
 );
+const hashicorpReleases: any = fs.readFileSync(
+  'lib/datasource/terraform-provider/__fixtures__/releaseBackendIndex.json'
+);
 
-const baseUrl = 'https://registry.terraform.io/';
+const primaryUrl = defaultRegistryUrls[0];
+const secondaryUrl = defaultRegistryUrls[1];
 
 describe('datasource/terraform', () => {
   describe('getReleases', () => {
@@ -22,9 +26,10 @@ describe('datasource/terraform', () => {
 
     it('returns null for empty result', async () => {
       httpMock
-        .scope(baseUrl)
+        .scope(primaryUrl)
         .get('/v1/providers/hashicorp/azurerm')
         .reply(200, {});
+      httpMock.scope(secondaryUrl).get('/index.json').reply(200, {});
       expect(
         await getPkgReleases({
           datasource,
@@ -34,7 +39,11 @@ describe('datasource/terraform', () => {
       expect(httpMock.getTrace()).toMatchSnapshot();
     });
     it('returns null for 404', async () => {
-      httpMock.scope(baseUrl).get('/v1/providers/hashicorp/azurerm').reply(404);
+      httpMock
+        .scope(primaryUrl)
+        .get('/v1/providers/hashicorp/azurerm')
+        .reply(404);
+      httpMock.scope(secondaryUrl).get('/index.json').reply(404);
       expect(
         await getPkgReleases({
           datasource,
@@ -45,9 +54,10 @@ describe('datasource/terraform', () => {
     });
     it('returns null for unknown error', async () => {
       httpMock
-        .scope(baseUrl)
+        .scope(primaryUrl)
         .get('/v1/providers/hashicorp/azurerm')
         .replyWithError('');
+      httpMock.scope(secondaryUrl).get('/index.json').replyWithError('');
       expect(
         await getPkgReleases({
           datasource,
@@ -58,7 +68,7 @@ describe('datasource/terraform', () => {
     });
     it('processes real data', async () => {
       httpMock
-        .scope(baseUrl)
+        .scope(primaryUrl)
         .get('/v1/providers/hashicorp/azurerm')
         .reply(200, JSON.parse(consulData));
       const res = await getPkgReleases({
@@ -69,5 +79,41 @@ describe('datasource/terraform', () => {
       expect(res).not.toBeNull();
       expect(httpMock.getTrace()).toMatchSnapshot();
     });
+    it('processes data with alternative backend', async () => {
+      httpMock
+        .scope(primaryUrl)
+        .get('/v1/providers/hashicorp/google-beta')
+        .reply(404, {
+          errors: ['Not Found'],
+        });
+      httpMock
+        .scope(secondaryUrl)
+        .get('/index.json')
+        .reply(200, JSON.parse(hashicorpReleases));
+
+      const res = await getPkgReleases({
+        datasource,
+        depName: 'google-beta',
+      });
+      expect(res).toMatchSnapshot();
+      expect(res).not.toBeNull();
+      expect(httpMock.getTrace()).toMatchSnapshot();
+    });
+    it('simulate failing secondary release source', async () => {
+      httpMock
+        .scope(primaryUrl)
+        .get('/v1/providers/hashicorp/google-beta')
+        .reply(404, {
+          errors: ['Not Found'],
+        });
+      httpMock.scope(secondaryUrl).get('/index.json').reply(404);
+
+      const res = await getPkgReleases({
+        datasource,
+        depName: 'datadog',
+      });
+      expect(res).toMatchSnapshot();
+      expect(res).toBeNull();
+    });
   });
 });
diff --git a/lib/datasource/terraform-provider/index.ts b/lib/datasource/terraform-provider/index.ts
index f818251dad686e..5ba096a98e3388 100644
--- a/lib/datasource/terraform-provider/index.ts
+++ b/lib/datasource/terraform-provider/index.ts
@@ -1,9 +1,14 @@
+import URL from 'url';
 import { logger } from '../../logger';
-import * as globalCache from '../../util/cache/global';
 import { Http } from '../../util/http';
-import { DatasourceError, GetReleasesConfig, ReleaseResult } from '../common';
+import { GetReleasesConfig, ReleaseResult } from '../common';
 
 export const id = 'terraform-provider';
+export const defaultRegistryUrls = [
+  'https://registry.terraform.io',
+  'https://releases.hashicorp.com',
+];
+export const registryStrategy = 'hunt';
 
 const http = new Http(id);
 
@@ -15,30 +20,25 @@ interface TerraformProvider {
   versions: string[];
 }
 
-/**
- * terraform-provider.getReleases
- *
- * This function will fetch a provider from the public Terraform registry and return all semver versions.
- */
-export async function getReleases({
-  lookupName,
-}: GetReleasesConfig): Promise<ReleaseResult | null> {
-  const repository = `hashicorp/${lookupName}`;
+interface TerraformProviderReleaseBackend {
+  [key: string]: {
+    name: string;
+    versions: VersionsReleaseBackend;
+  };
+}
 
-  logger.debug({ lookupName }, 'terraform-provider.getDependencies()');
-  const cacheNamespace = 'terraform-providers';
-  const pkgUrl = `https://registry.terraform.io/v1/providers/${repository}`;
-  const cachedResult = await globalCache.get<ReleaseResult>(
-    cacheNamespace,
-    pkgUrl
-  );
-  // istanbul ignore if
-  if (cachedResult) {
-    return cachedResult;
-  }
+interface VersionsReleaseBackend {
+  [key: string]: Record<string, any>;
+}
+
+async function queryRegistry(
+  lookupName: string,
+  registryURL: string,
+  repository: string
+): Promise<ReleaseResult> {
   try {
-    const res = (await http.getJson<TerraformProvider>(pkgUrl)).body;
-    // Simplify response before caching and returning
+    const backendURL = `${registryURL}/v1/providers/${repository}`;
+    const res = (await http.getJson<TerraformProvider>(backendURL)).body;
     const dep: ReleaseResult = {
       name: repository,
       versions: {},
@@ -50,33 +50,74 @@ export async function getReleases({
     dep.releases = res.versions.map((version) => ({
       version,
     }));
-    if (pkgUrl.startsWith('https://registry.terraform.io/')) {
-      dep.homepage = `https://registry.terraform.io/providers/${repository}`;
-    }
+    dep.homepage = `${registryURL}/providers/${repository}`;
     logger.trace({ dep }, 'dep');
-    const cacheMinutes = 30;
-    await globalCache.set(cacheNamespace, pkgUrl, dep, cacheMinutes);
     return dep;
   } catch (err) {
-    if (err.statusCode === 404 || err.code === 'ENOTFOUND') {
-      logger.debug(
-        { lookupName },
-        `Terraform registry lookup failure: not found`
-      );
-      logger.debug({
-        err,
-      });
-      return null;
-    }
-    const failureCodes = ['EAI_AGAIN'];
-    // istanbul ignore if
-    if (failureCodes.includes(err.code)) {
-      throw new DatasourceError(err);
-    }
-    logger.warn(
-      { err, lookupName },
-      'Terraform registry failure: Unknown error'
+    logger.debug(
+      { lookupName },
+      `Terraform registry ("${registryURL}") lookup failure: not found`
+    );
+    logger.debug({
+      err,
+    });
+    return null;
+  }
+}
+
+async function queryReleaseBackend(
+  lookupName: string,
+  registryURL: string,
+  repository: string
+): Promise<ReleaseResult> {
+  const backendLookUpName = `terraform-provider-${lookupName}`;
+  const backendURL = registryURL + `/index.json`;
+  try {
+    const res = (
+      await http.getJson<TerraformProviderReleaseBackend>(backendURL)
+    ).body;
+    const dep: ReleaseResult = {
+      name: repository,
+      versions: {},
+      releases: null,
+    };
+    dep.releases = Object.keys(res[backendLookUpName].versions).map(
+      (version) => ({
+        version,
+      })
+    );
+    logger.trace({ dep }, 'dep');
+    return dep;
+  } catch (err) {
+    logger.debug(
+      { lookupName },
+      `Terraform registry ("${registryURL}") lookup failure: not found`
     );
+    logger.debug({
+      err,
+    });
     return null;
   }
 }
+
+/**
+ * terraform-provider.getReleases
+ *
+ * This function will fetch a provider from the public Terraform registry and return all semver versions.
+ */
+export async function getReleases({
+  lookupName,
+  registryUrl,
+}: GetReleasesConfig): Promise<ReleaseResult | null> {
+  const repository = `hashicorp/${lookupName}`;
+
+  logger.debug({ lookupName }, 'terraform-provider.getDependencies()');
+  let dep: ReleaseResult = null;
+  const registryHost = URL.parse(registryUrl).host;
+  if (registryHost === 'registry.terraform.io') {
+    dep = await queryRegistry(lookupName, registryUrl, repository);
+  } else if (registryHost === 'releases.hashicorp.com') {
+    dep = await queryReleaseBackend(lookupName, registryUrl, repository);
+  }
+  return dep;
+}