Google Signs its First Long-Term Renewable Energy Deal in Ireland
Google announced today the signing of a 58 MW power purchase agreement (PPA) with Power Capital Renewable Energy, marking the technology giant’s first long-term renewable energy deal in Ireland.
According to Google, the new agreement will help the company achieve 60% carbon-free energy in its offices and data centers in Ireland in 2025. The new agreement will also enable the construction of the Tullabeg Solar Farm, which will provide new-to-the-grid capacity.
In a blog post announcing the financing, Ainhoa Anda, Data Center Energy Senior Lead, Google, said:
“In addition to contributing to decarbonizing Google’s services, renewable projects like this one help Ireland to achieve its own renewable energy targets. The Irish Government’s Climate Action Plan aims to meet 80% of the national electricity demand with renewable energy. It also sets a sub-target for corporate electricity consumers, that 15% of the country’s electricity demand by 2030 should be met through corporate PPAs. This project brings Ireland closer to reaching these goals.”
According to Google, the new agreement will contribute to its commitment to power all its operations on 24/7 carbon-free energy (CFE) by 2030. Google parent Alphabet announced a 24/7 CFE ambition in 2020, aiming to run its entire business on carbon-free energy by 2030. Operating on 24/7 CFE means matching electricity demand with CFE supply every hour of every day, in every region where the company operates.
The agreement marks the latest in a series of renewable energy announcements by Google, including a 189 MW PPA last month with Apex Clean Energy, a 15-year 150 MW PPA in April with Ørsted, and a collaboration launched in March with renewable transaction infrastructure provider LevelTen Energy to provide a faster and easier RFP process for PPAs, speeding up the time to negotiate and execute deals by around 80%.
Anda added:
“Since we began purchasing renewable energy in 2010, we’ve signed more than 35 wind and solar agreements in Europe totalling nearly 3 gigawatts of clean energy generation capacity — the equivalent of installing more than 9 million solar panels.”