SB Energy Global has announced that it has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Google to supply the internet major with 942MW of renewable energy capacity in Texas.
Under the terms of the PPA, Google will buy nearly 75% of the renewable energy generated by four SB Energy’s solar projects that are currently under development.
The four solar projects, namely Orion 1-3 and Eiffel, are anticipated to begin operations by mid-2024. Collectively, the projects have a capacity of 1.2GW.
The energy purchased from the projects will help Google meet the energy requirements of its data centre in Midlothian, said SB Energy.
Based in the US, SB Energy is a utility scale solar, energy storage, and technology platform backed by Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group.
SB Energy co-CEO Rich Hossfeld said: “SB Energy is thrilled to join forces with Google to provide clean energy to match Google’s Texas data centre consumption.
“We share Google’s relentless drive to achieve critical climate goals through innovative infrastructure and technology and look forward to expanding our relationship with Google as we deliver renewable energy that is local, reliable, and matched to load.”
The PPA is also expected to help Google achieve its goal of operating on carbon-free energy every day, every hour by 2030.
The deal is claimed to be the largest combined clean energy transaction for the technology major in Texas to date.
Google energy lead Sana Ouji said: “Within the decade we’re aiming for every Google data centre to operate on clean electricity every hour of every day. This goal requires us to continue to grow our carbon-free energy portfolio.
“We’re excited to partner with SB Energy to bring online four solar projects that will meaningfully grow our portfolio of renewable energy projects in the region and bring additional clean energy jobs to Texas.”
The four solar projects, which will mainly use US-made modules from First Solar, are expected to employ 10,000 people.
