Global tech giant Google has signed three new long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) with Clearway Energy Group (Clearway) to power its data centers, totalling 1.17 GW of carbon-free energy projects located in Missouri, Texas, and West Virginia.
Clearway will deliver carbon-free energy to local grids to support Google’s data centers in Data for up to 20 years while driving economic growth across the local communities. According to a press release, together, the three projects represent over US$ 2.4 billion invested in reliable energy infrastructure.
Valerie Wooley, Senior Vice President of Origination, Clearway, said, “These projects represent the next step in Clearway’s accelerated digital infrastructure development program, which is delivering speed to power across the country at the massive scale needed to enable data center growth.”
Construction will begin this year on the projects totalling over 1 GW, with the first sites expected to come online in 2027 and 2028. The new agreements build on Google and Clearway’s existing 71.5 MW PPA in operation in West Virginia, bringing the total partnership to 1.24 GW.
Google has also extended and expanded its partnership with ENGIE on carbon-free energy in Germany, by adding battery storage and new renewable PPAs to reduce emissions from Google’s German operations as part of its goal to achieve net-zero emissions across all operations and value chain by 2030.
According to a press release, the objective is to match Google’s electricity consumption on an hourly basis with power generated from new onshore wind and solar projects, supported by energy storage. Under the agreement, ENGIE will act as Google’s carbon-free energy manager in Germany, building on a collaboration launched in 2021. ENGIE will also integrate electricity volumes from Google’s existing long-term power purchase agreements with third-party suppliers.
Katrin Fuhrmann, Head of Energy Management, ENGIE Germany, said, “Our long-standing, trusting collaboration with Google is ready to take the next step in supporting Google’s decarbonization strategy and the German energy transition enabling the sustainable growth of AI infrastructure.”
Adam Elman, Director of Sustainability, Google EMEA, said, “Building on the success of the partnership signed in 2021, Engie will further support Google’s regional carbon free energy ambitions in Germany. Google aims to directly support German decarbonization goals and a clean, reliable, and affordable energy system for everyone.”
To address the variability of renewable generation, the partnership will incorporate battery energy storage systems and pumped-storage facilities in Germany. According to the companies, this combination is intended to provide greater flexibility in balancing supply and demand, with the aim of enabling Google’s German operations to run at or near 85 percent carbon-free energy by 2026.
The energy agreement is linked to Google’s broader investment plans in Germany. The company has announced it will invest approximately €5.5 billion (US$ 6.4 billion) in artificial intelligence infrastructure and office locations between 2026 and 2029, increasing demand for reliable electricity supply while seeking to limit associated emissions.