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Deal is Google’s largest solar agreement from single developer
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Energy to come from four renewable energy projects in Texas
Alphabet Inc.’s Google signed its largest solar deal from a single developer, agreeing to buy 942 megawatts from SB Energy Global LLC as part of its push to eliminate emissions from its operations.
The electricity will come from four solar projects that are being built in Texas, according to a statement from SB Energy, a solar operator backed by SoftBank Group Corp. Google agreed to buy 75% of the renewable energy produced from the facilities, which are expected to be operational by mid-2024. Terms weren’t disclosed.
Tech companies like Google and Amazon.com Inc often buy energy directly from renewable energy developers through power purchase agreements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions amid mounting pressure to reduce their impacts on the environment. Google vows that it’ll operate on carbon-free energy by 2030.
The SB Energy deal is Google’s largest solar power purchase agreement from a single developer, according to the company. Google’s largest clean energy purchase deal was for 1.9 gigawatts from multiple developers in 2019, according to Bloomberg’s energy and data analysis unit, BloombergNEF. One gigawatt, or 1,000 megawatts, is enough to power about 750,000 US houses.
The first solar project is expected to be online as soon as next year, SB Energy Co-Chief Executive Officer Rich Hossfeld said in an interview.
