Google Acquires Almost 1 GW of Solar Energy from SoftBank's Renewables Platform

SoftBank Group's U.S. renewable energy-focused platform SB Energy signed an agreement with Google for the purchase of approximately 1 GW of renewable energy from four of its solar projects in construction.

The power purchase agreement (PPA) renewable energy will be used to power Google's Midlothian, Texas data centre and Dallas cloud region.

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, declared a 24/7 CFE goal in 2020, seeking to run its whole business on carbon-free energy by 2030. Operating on 24/7 CFE necessitates balancing the electricity demand with the CFE supply every hour of every day, in every zone where the business operates.

Google disclosed earlier this year that 66% of its energy use in 2021 was in line with this goal, but the company also noted that headwinds, such as a lack of available renewable energy and delays to CFE construction due to supply disruptions and interconnection issues, had slowed progress towards its objective.

Sana Ouji, Energy Lead at Google, said:

"By the end of the decade, we want every Google data centre to run on clean electricity 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This objective needs us to continue expanding our portfolio of caron-free energy sources. We are thrilled to collaborate with SB Energy to bring online four solar projects that will significantly expand our portfolio of renewable energy projects in the region and create additional clean energy employment in Texas."

The PPA represents about three quarters of the 1.2 GW of renewable energy that will be generated by SB Energy's Orion 1-3 and Eiffel solar projects by mid-2024.

SB Energy now owns and operates 1.7 GW of solar power, and the firm has indicated that, with the adoption of the Inflation Reduction Act, it is rapidly expanding. The company anticipates having begun development on an additional 1.3 GW of solar power by early next year.

Rich Hossfeld, co-CEO of SB Energy, said:

"SB Energy is ecstatic to join up with Google to provide renewable energy to match the usage of Google's Texas data centre. We share Google's unrelenting commitment to achieving key climate goals through innovative infrastructure and technology, and we look forward to strengthening our cooperation with Google as we strive to supply local, reliable, and load-matched renewable energy."