31 October 2026, 12:55
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Google wants to use only renewable electricity from 2030, signs another 700 MW in PPAs
Jan Budín
11 February 2024, 08:34
Google plans to power all its data centres in Europe solely with electricity from renewable energy sources (RES) from 2030. Unlike many other companies that “green” their electricity consumption through guarantees of origin or similar green certificates on an annual basis, Google is targeting hourly coverage of its electricity consumption with RES.
The European market for long-term contracts to purchase electricity from renewable sources (PPAs, or Power Purchase Agreements) has just had a record year. In terms of installed capacity, it grew by 40% last year to a total of 16.2 GW, while the number of contracts signed rose by as much as 66% to a total of 272.
What is a PPA (Power Purchase Agreement)?
In the energy sector, a power purchase agreement (PPA) is a contract for the direct sale of electricity between a seller (an electricity producer, most often from renewable sources) and a buyer (in the case of corporate PPAs, a company that purchases electricity for its own consumption). PPAs can take many forms: they may be physical PPAs, which also cover the physical delivery of electricity, or virtual PPAs, which primarily provide financial hedging against volatility in wholesale electricity markets. In recent years, PPAs have most often been discussed in connection with the construction of new renewable energy sources, which secure electricity sales and cover investment costs through long-term PPAs.
Renewable electricity 24/7
One company that has increasingly focused on PPAs for renewable electricity in recent years is Google. Its aim is not simply to “green” its annual electricity consumption, but to cover its electricity consumption with RES in real time and in the country where the electricity is used.
“These efforts are part of our commitment to accelerate the decarbonisation of the world’s electricity grids, with our primary goal being to power our data centres and offices with carbon-free electricity 24/7 by 2030, in every grid where we operate,”Google said.
Given the intermittent nature of renewable electricity generation, Google says it deliberately shifts its electricity consumption “to different times or locations” when necessary.
700 MW in new PPAs in Europe
Thanks to a newly signed PPA for 478 MW of capacity from two offshore wind farms off the Dutch coast, Google will cover 90% of its data centre operations in the Netherlands with electricity generated from renewable energy sources this year. As noted above, this will be on an hourly basis.
In addition to this agreement, Google announced that it had signed PPAs in Italy (47 MW from an onshore wind farm), Poland (106 MW from solar power plants) and Belgium (84 MW from onshore wind farms). Google says it has also moved significantly closer to its commitment to use only renewable electricity on an hourly basis in these three countries. In Belgium, it will reach an 85% share this year, while in Italy and Poland it expects to reach a 90% share from 2025.
Translation disclaimer
This article is a machine translation of the Czech original and has not yet been fully reviewed. In case of any doubt, please refer to the Czech version.
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