What you need to know
- Google has announced that it is making the biggest corporate purchase of renewable energy yet.
- The purchase includes a 1,600-megawatt (MW) package of agreements and 18 new energy deals.
- The purchase will increase Google's portfolio of wind and solar agreements worldwide to 5,500 MW.
In 2017, Google became the first tech giant to reach 100% renewable energy for its global operations. The Mountain View-based company has now announced that it is "making the biggest corporate purchase of renewable energy in history."
Google's latest purchase, which will increase its worldwide portfolio of wind and solar agreements by over 40 percent, includes a 1,600-megawatt (MW) package of agreements and 18 new energy deals. Additionally, the company will be spending $2 billion in building new infrastructure in the U.S., Europe, and Chile.
To create maximum impact, Google is not buying power from existing wind or solar farms. It is instead concentrating on the development of new projects. In the U.S., Google will purchase a total of 720 MW solar energy from farms in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas. In South America, the company plans to add 125 MW of renewable energy capacity to the grid that supplies its data center in Chile.
In August, Google had pledged to include recycled materials in all of its hardware products starting 2022. By next year, it expects all shipments "going to or from consumers" to be carbon neutral. The search giant has also announced that it is providing a $500,000 grant to Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance (REBA) in the U.S. and a 500,000 euro grant to RE-Source in Europe to help the organizations enable widespread access to clean energy.
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