Two new power purchase agreements in Belgium and the Netherlands are helping us move forward in our goal to run 24/7 on carbon-free energy by 2030.
Imagine a world where you could decarbonize your business just by asking your energy provider to do so. That’s exactly what we’re setting out to do at Google: to show it can be done, but more importantly, to make it easier for others to do the same.
Today’s agreement with ENGIE, a large European utility, is helping us do just this. As part of our broader announcement that, between now (2021) and 2030, Google will be investing approximately 1 billion euros in digital infrastructure and clean energy in Germany, Google has signed a first-of-its-kind agreement in Europe to purchase the clean energy that will help ensure that our operations in Germany will operate at nearly 80% carbon-free energy on an hourly basis beginning in 2022. In line with our 2030 commitment to operate on carbon-free energy 24/7 at all our campuses and data centers worldwide, we will continue to work to increase this percentage to 100%.
Beyond our own goals, this agreement establishes a roadmap for other companies to follow as we work together to decarbonize electricity use and support Europe’s green recovery.
Sourcing carbon-free energy every hour of the day is an incredibly difficult task and will require innovative technological and contractual solutions. In 2010, Google became an early pioneer of purchasing carbon-free energy through individual Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), complex arrangements that not all energy customers are able to use. Companies can also purchase clean energy via unbundled Energy Attribute Certificates (EACs), which historically have a limited impact on driving clean energy deployment, though we are working to change that. To completely decarbonize our operations -- and to make it easier for other organizations to do the same -- we are working with our partners to rethink how we buy carbon-free electricity.
Under the terms of the agreement we are announcing today, ENGIE will assemble and develop a carbon-free energy portfolio on Google’s behalf that has the ability to flex and grow as our needs change in the region.
Jointly with ENGIE, Google will purchase electricity from 23 renewable energy projects in five German states. Some will be newly-built from scratch. Others (such as existing onshore wind projects that will no longer receive national subsidy support) will see their life extended, so they continue to produce clean electricity instead of being dismantled. By working with our energy suppliers to transform the way clean energy is delivered to customers, Google is supporting Germany's decarbonization goals.
Together with today’s announcements of a new cloud region in Berlin-Brandenburg and the expansion of our existing cloud region in Frankfurt, we are pleased to continue delivering one of the cleanest clouds in the industry to our customers. More and more companies are incorporating environmental, social and governance targetsinto their technology strategies. We’re committed to help IT organizations, and our users, take action today to lower the carbon emissions of their cloud applications. Because of this agreement, European customers will have another low-carbon option where they can run their cloud workloads.
Imagine a world where you could decarbonize your business just by asking your energy provider to do so. That’s exactly what we’re setting out to do at Google: to show it can be done, but more importantly, to make it easier for others to do the same.
Today’s agreement with ENGIE, a large European utility, is helping us do just this. As part of our broader announcement that, between now (2021) and 2030, Google will be investing approximately 1 billion euros in digital infrastructure and clean energy in Germany, Google has signed a first-of-its-kind agreement in Europe to purchase the clean energy that will help ensure that our operations in Germany will operate at nearly 80% carbon-free energy on an hourly basis beginning in 2022. In line with our 2030 commitment to operate on carbon-free energy 24/7 at all our campuses and data centers worldwide, we will continue to work to increase this percentage to 100%.
Beyond our own goals, this agreement establishes a roadmap for other companies to follow as we work together to decarbonize electricity use and support Europe’s green recovery.
Sourcing carbon-free energy every hour of the day is an incredibly difficult task and will require innovative technological and contractual solutions. In 2010, Google became an early pioneer of purchasing carbon-free energy through individual Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), complex arrangements that not all energy customers are able to use. Companies can also purchase clean energy via unbundled Energy Attribute Certificates (EACs), which historically have a limited impact on driving clean energy deployment, though we are working to change that. To completely decarbonize our operations -- and to make it easier for other organizations to do the same -- we are working with our partners to rethink how we buy carbon-free electricity.
Under the terms of the agreement we are announcing today, ENGIE will assemble and develop a carbon-free energy portfolio on Google’s behalf that has the ability to flex and grow as our needs change in the region.
Jointly with ENGIE, Google will purchase electricity from 23 renewable energy projects in five German states. Some will be newly-built from scratch. Others (such as existing onshore wind projects that will no longer receive national subsidy support) will see their life extended, so they continue to produce clean electricity instead of being dismantled. By working with our energy suppliers to transform the way clean energy is delivered to customers, Google is supporting Germany's decarbonization goals.
Together with today’s announcements of a new cloud region in Berlin-Brandenburg and the expansion of our existing cloud region in Frankfurt, we are pleased to continue delivering one of the cleanest clouds in the industry to our customers. More and more companies are incorporating environmental, social and governance targetsinto their technology strategies. We’re committed to help IT organizations, and our users, take action today to lower the carbon emissions of their cloud applications. Because of this agreement, European customers will have another low-carbon option where they can run their cloud workloads.
Earlier this year, we hosted an event in Brussels that brought business leaders, policy makers and civil society together to discuss ways to ensure EU renewable energy policy meets the changing needs of consumers. Last week, we were back in Brussels to continue the discussion at RE-Source, the largest gathering in the EU to-date of companies committed to buying renewable energy to cover their operations.
With 14 data centers on four continents and offices in 150 cities around the globe, Google consumes a lot of power. And combating climate change requires the world to transition to a clean energy economy. So we’ve made it a top priority not only to become more energy efficient but also to ensure that the energy we purchase comes from clean sources such as renewables. We have also found that purchasing energy from renewable resources also makes good business sense, for two key reasons:
Google is the largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy in the world. To date, we’ve signed contracts to purchase 2.6 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy. In the EU alone, we have signed 669 MW of deals across 8 projects in Sweden, Norway, and The Netherlands and we are on track to reach 100% renewable energy for our operations in 2017—a major milestone. You can read more about our global sustainability efforts in the 2017 progress update of Google’s Environmental Report.
Despite this progress, many barriers to purchasing renewable energy still exist. The challenge ahead is to drive even more renewable purchasing and grow the size of the market. The EU is currently considering a series of directives on clean energy that provide opportunity to remove many of these barriers. We look forward to working with EU policymakers and other stakeholders to ensure these efforts maximize the opportunity to scale renewables across Europe. For us, reaching 100% renewable energy purchasing on a global and annual basis is an important milestone but we’re just getting started. We want to help ensure that all energy consumers have a clear and easy path to choosing renewable sources.
Earlier this year, we hosted an event in Brussels that brought business leaders, policy makers and civil society together to discuss ways to ensure EU renewable energy policy meets the changing needs of consumers. Last week, we were back in Brussels to continue the discussion at RE-Source, the largest gathering in the EU to-date of companies committed to buying renewable energy to cover their operations.
With 14 data centers on four continents and offices in 150 cities around the globe, Google consumes a lot of power. And combating climate change requires the world to transition to a clean energy economy. So we’ve made it a top priority not only to become more energy efficient but also to ensure that the energy we purchase comes from clean sources such as renewables. We have also found that purchasing energy from renewable resources also makes good business sense, for two key reasons:
Google is the largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy in the world. To date, we’ve signed contracts to purchase 2.6 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy. In the EU alone, we have signed 669 MW of deals across 8 projects in Sweden, Norway, and The Netherlands and we are on track to reach 100% renewable energy for our operations in 2017—a major milestone. You can read more about our global sustainability efforts in the 2017 progress update of Google’s Environmental Report.
Despite this progress, many barriers to purchasing renewable energy still exist. The challenge ahead is to drive even more renewable purchasing and grow the size of the market. The EU is currently considering a series of directives on clean energy that provide opportunity to remove many of these barriers. We look forward to working with EU policymakers and other stakeholders to ensure these efforts maximize the opportunity to scale renewables across Europe. For us, reaching 100% renewable energy purchasing on a global and annual basis is an important milestone but we’re just getting started. We want to help ensure that all energy consumers have a clear and easy path to choosing renewable sources.
Earlier this year, we hosted an event in Brussels that brought business leaders, policy makers and civil society together to discuss ways to ensure EU renewable energy policy meets the changing needs of consumers. Last week, we were back in Brussels to continue the discussion at RE-Source, the largest gathering in the EU to-date of companies committed to buying renewable energy to cover their operations.
With 14 data centers on four continents and offices in 150 cities around the globe, Google consumes a lot of power. And combating climate change requires the world to transition to a clean energy economy. So we’ve made it a top priority not only to become more energy efficient but also to ensure that the energy we purchase comes from clean sources such as renewables. We have also found that purchasing energy from renewable resources also makes good business sense, for two key reasons:
Google is the largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy in the world. To date, we’ve signed contracts to purchase 2.6 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy. In the EU alone, we have signed 669 MW of deals across 8 projects in Sweden, Norway, and The Netherlands and we are on track to reach 100% renewable energy for our operations in 2017—a major milestone. You can read more about our global sustainability efforts in the 2017 progress update of Google’s Environmental Report.
Despite this progress, many barriers to purchasing renewable energy still exist. The challenge ahead is to drive even more renewable purchasing and grow the size of the market. The EU is currently considering a series of directives on clean energy that provide opportunity to remove many of these barriers. We look forward to working with EU policymakers and other stakeholders to ensure these efforts maximize the opportunity to scale renewables across Europe. For us, reaching 100% renewable energy purchasing on a global and annual basis is an important milestone but we’re just getting started. We want to help ensure that all energy consumers have a clear and easy path to choosing renewable sources.
These new Nordic power purchase agreements complement our three other Swedish wind deals and enable us to power even more of our European operations with renewable energy. In total, we now have seven purchase agreements in Europe, totalling more than 500 MW and 18 such deals globally, which means we’ve now purchased nearly 2.5 gigawatts (GW) worldwide — the equivalent of taking over 1 million cars off the road.
We’ve known for a long time that reducing energy usage and using renewables makes good business sense — we signed our first major power purchase agreement for 114 MW of Iowa wind in 2010. Others are discovering the benefits of renewables too — in the U.S. alone, companies bought almost 3.5 GW of renewable energy last year. We’re pleased to have played a part in stimulating the market for corporate renewable energy purchasing and doing our share in the effort to mitigate climate change.
