Google to Buy Wind Energy from Ørsted for US Datacenters

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In a quest to step-up the decarbonisation of its activities, tech giant Google has signed a 150 MW PPA with Danish energy major Ørsted for the purchase of renewable energy generated by Helena Wind Farm for the next 15 years.

The Ørsted wind project was commissioned last year and provides low-cost electricity to the South ERCOT service territory, enough to power an estimated 90,000 homes.

This marks the first agreement between Google and Ørsted in the US, and the second agreement globally. Both PPAs will contribute to Google’s commitment to operate all its data centers, cloud regions and offices on 24/7 carbon-free energy by 2030.

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Sana Ouji, Energy Lead at Google, said, “Building a 24/7 carbon-free energy portfolio requires us to blend various resources to optimize for hourly production, and that’s exactly what this project helps us accomplish. We’re excited to continue our partnership with Ørsted and add this wind project to our existing solar portfolio in ERCOT as we serve customers out of our Dallas cloud region.”

Google was the first to set a 24/7 carbon-free energy goal, which means the company aims to match its electricity demand with carbon-free energy supply every hour of every day, in every region where it operates, by 2030.

Monica Testa, Head of Origination at Ørsted Americas, commented, “Google’s leadership in the investment of renewable energy and commitment to advancing 24/7 carbon-free energy by 2030 sets a strong example for companies across the globe and we look forward to helping them achieve that ambition.”

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Helena Project is a 268 MW wind farm located in Texas that represents a nearly half billion-dollar investment in Bee County. Besides this Ørsted deal, Google recently signed a pact with US solar energy firm Sol Systems to help power up its campuses in North and South Carolina with solar energy.

Similarly, it has signed a pact with Microsoft to lower carbon footprint of their IT operations by the employment of renewable energy in their data centres.