Google ramps renewables under contract with 435MW solar deal with New York-based energyRE

The announcement follows a mammoth 30GW deal in India as the tech giant continues towards 100% clean power by 2030 goal

Miguel Prado. Miguel Prado.
Miguel Prado. Miguel Prado.Photo: energyRe

Tech giant Google has entered into a 12-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with New York-based renewables firm energyRE for electricity generated by an undisclosed 435MW solar farm.

EnergyRe will supply electricity and Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) generated from the solar project to Google to power the equivalent of more than 56,000 homes.

The project will support Google's 2030 goal to run fully on carbon-free energy in every country that it operates and follows its announcement Thursday of a massive 30GW PPA for a wind-solar hybrid project in India.

“As we continue to progress towards our goal to operate every Google campus on clean electricity every hour of every day by 2030, we are always looking for opportunities to accelerate the delivery of new clean power to the grid,” said Amanda Peterson Corio, Google global head of Data Centre Energy.

Google – like other tech giants such as Amazon and Meta – is already a massive consumer of green power globally.

The demands of AI, cloud computing and stretching corporate decarbonisation goals are expected to create unprecedented extra demand from the tech sector in the next decade.

EnergyRe operates some 1.5GW of onshore utility-scale solar assets and 398MWh of battery storage and is partnering with Chicago-based Invenergy on the 2.4GW Leading Light offshore wind array to New Jersey.

“Google is a global leader in renewable energy and continues to set a high bar across the technology industry,” said Miguel Prado, energyRE chief executive. “EnergyRe's track record of delivering clean energy solutions for our customers makes us a trusted partner for companies working to reduce their carbon footprints.”

The deal was facilitated through LEAP (LevelTen Energy's Accelerated Process), which was co-developed by Google and LevelTen Energy to make clean energy buying and selling more efficient.

The location of the wind farm was not disclosed, but Corio said it would “deliver new clean energy to the SPP [Southwest Power Pool] grid system and support our 24/7 progress in the region.”

SPP is a regional transmission operator (RTO) in 14 states across the US Midwest and Great Plains from Arkansas to Wyoming.

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Published 3 October 2024, 18:45Updated 3 October 2024, 18:50
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