Google is making strides in renewable energy by investing in a Taiwanese solar company to create a 1-gigawatt pipeline of sustainable energy in the region. This initiative involves a partnership with New Green Power (NGP), a firm within BlackRock's investment portfolio.
New Renewable Energy Venture of Google
In a blog post, Google revealed this new venture and emphasized the partnership with BlackRock's Climate Infrastructure business, which seeks to augment solar capacity in Taiwan's electricity grid.
This effort supports Google's ambitious goal to achieve net-zero emissions across all its operations and value chains by 2030 and to operate on 24/7 carbon-free energy on every grid where the company functions.
The collaboration with BlackRock's Climate Infrastructure business aims to support the development of a 1-gigawatt pipeline of new solar capacity in Taiwan, enhancing the local electricity grid's clean energy. As part of this partnership, the tech giant is investing in NGP to aid the expansion of its large-scale solar projects.
Google noted that many Asia Pacific countries face challenges in adding new carbon-free energy sources, such as limited land, scarce commercially scalable wind and solar resources, and high construction costs.
Pending regulatory approval, Google's investment in NGP will provide development capital for its 1-gigawatt pipeline of new solar projects, facilitating critical equity and debt financing for these projects.
The tech giant expects to gain up to 300 megawatts of solar energy from this pipeline through power purchase agreements (PPAs) and the associated energy attribute certificates (Taiwan Renewable Energy Certificates or T-RECs) to meet electricity requirements from its cloud region, data center campus, and office operations in Taiwan.
Additionally, Google said it may offer a portion of this sustainable energy capability to its regional semiconductor suppliers and manufacturers to help them achieve their goals while reducing Google's Scope 3 emissions.
Much of Google's Scope 3 footprint is linked to the electricity grids powering its suppliers and users, making broad decarbonization and partnerships like this essential to Google's net-zero objective.
Carbon-Free Energy Objectives of Google
David Giordano, BlackRock's Global Head of Climate Infrastructure, highlighted the importance of investing in clean energy amid the growing demand for digital services powered by AI and data-centric technologies.
He claimed that this partnership underscores Google and BlackRock's shared commitment to advancing the transition to a low-carbon economy. This initiative builds on over five years of collaboration focused on speeding up the clean energy transition through market and policy advancements across the Asia Pacific region.
Google's advocacy played a crucial role in the 2017 amendment of Taiwan's Electricity Act, which permitted non-utility companies to purchase renewable energy directly. This change led to Google being the first corporate buyer to sign a power purchase agreement (PPA) in Taiwan.
With recent developments announced in Australia and Japan, Google continues to make headway on its carbon-free energy objectives throughout the Asia Pacific. Google also revealed that it is collaborating with partners to support policies that advance the decarbonization of electricity grids.
