Google funds clean energy with upfront capital and “offtake agreements.”
from the Google blog, published as”New ways we’re advancing our clean energy commitments in the U.S.”
EcoTech Note: Here’s an example of a corporation meeting its commitment to using only “carbon free energy” by supporting new CleanTech generation facilities with upfront investment and an “offtake agreement” — which is a long term contract to buy the electricity created at a pre-set price that allows the investment to be profitable. #Green_Premium #learning_curve
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As we work toward our ambitious goal to run on 24/7 carbon-free energy (CFE) and meet increasing demand for Google products and services, being a responsible grid citizen is one of our top priorities. Today we’re announcing collaborative efforts with Energix Renewables and Swift Current Energy that support decarbonizing the electricity that supplies our operations in Ohio and Virginia.
Bringing new CFE online in the region has been challenging as the supply of new transmission and clean energy resources has not kept up with the region’s accelerated economic growth. A high volume of new clean energy projects and associated transmission system upgrades has created a backlog, delaying the generation of new sources of CFE.
In order to help overcome these challenges, and deliver 24/7 CFE onto the grid where these data centers operate, we’ve worked with Energix Renewables on an investment framework that allows us to invest in, and buy power from, a 1.5 gigawatt (GW) portfolio of new solar projects throughout the Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland (PJM) grid over the next three years. By providing both investment capital and energy offtake, these projects have a clearer path to construction, bringing the planned construction start of 150 MW of queue backlog from 2025 ahead to 2024.
In collaboration with Swift Current Energy, we’re enabling a 299 megawatt (MW) clean energy project in PJM. The solar project called Black Diamond was designed to require minimal network upgrades to connect to the grid, resulting in an earlier delivery of CFE projects than those in similar stages of development. In addition, we are investing alongside Swift Current Energy in a 593 MW solar project, Double Black Diamond, which will be the largest solar project in the Midwest Independent System Operator (MISO) grid system.
These new initiatives in the region are in addition to the partnership we announced last year with EDPR NA Distributed Generation (EDPR NA DG) to create a 500 MW community-based solar energy portfolio, adding new generation to the grid with projects primarily in Ohio. This collaboration also funds pre-weatherization efforts, helping low- and moderate-income (LMI) households access energy efficiency programs and reduce the burden of energy costs.
Looking to the Future
Electricity decarbonization is a system-wide challenge, and there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. We are committed to collaborating across the industry to develop new ways to bring new, clean energy to the grids where we operate — enabling the digital products and services that both businesses and individuals use every day.
To learn more about Google data centers, visit google.com/datacenters, and sustainability.google for more information about our broad sustainability efforts.