Google has signed new Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) for wind energy in Belgium and the Netherlands in an effort to run 24/7 clean energy by 2030.
In Belgium, the company will acquire 23.8 MW of energy from four new onshore wind projects of energy supplier Luminus in a 12-year deal.
“Our current projections indicate that this PPA will help us keep our Belgium data centers and offices at or near 80 percent carbon-free energy in 2024 when measured on an hourly local basis,” the company said.
According to French utility EDF-owned Luminus, three of the four projects are co-owned by different partners and are co-developed with them through Luminus' subsidiaries: e-NosVents and Demainvest. The wind farms are set to launch in 2024.
“Sustainable development has been one of Google's core values since the company was founded. For more than a decade, we have been pioneering and building a carbon-free future. Achieving our goal of running 24/7 globally on 24/7 carbon-free energy by 2030 will require collaborations and partnerships with leading energy industry actors, such as Luminus, who are collectively committed to long-term sustainable energy practices,” Thierry Geerts, national director of Google in Belgium, said.
In the Netherlands, Google has signed a 10-year deal with Eneco to procure 153 MW from new near-shore wind farms – Windpark Fryslân will generate 288 GWh per year with a capacity of 73.5 MW. Windpark Kroningswind generates 227 GWh annually with a capacity of 79.8 MW.
The search engine giant said the agreement would increase the carbon-free energy percentage of its data center and office operations in the country by 20% in 2024, on an hourly local basis.
Kees-Jan Rameau, COO integrated energy at Eneco, added: “Google is committed to offering all its services energy-neutral. This is a valuable goal that Eneco is happy to contribute to by supplying sustainable energy, together with the wind farms Fryslân and Kroningswind. We are accelerating the energy transition with large impactful companies such as Google.”
Google aims to achieve net zero emissions across its data centre and office operations by 2030. Since 2010, Google said it has signed more than 35 wind and solar agreements in Europe to purchase nearly 3 GW of renewable power.
2023 has seen Google sign PPAs with Ørsted in Texas and Sol Systems for projects in North & South Carolina. Last year, the company signed PPAs with ib vogt in Spain, Engie in the U.K. and Germany.