Google announced today a series of Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) across Europe for more than 700 MW of clean energy, enabling the company to reach more than 90% carbon-free energy in areas including the Netherlands, Italy and Poland, and close to 85% in Belgium in the next two years. 

According to Google, the new agreement marks a significant step towards its goal to power all its operations on 24/7 carbon-free energy (CFE) by 2030. Google parent Alphabet announced a 24/7 CFE ambition in 2020, aiming to run its entire business on carbon-free energy by 2030, matching electricity demand with CFE supply every hour of every day, in every region where the company operates.

In a post announcing the new clean energy deals, Matt Brittin President of Google Europe, Middle East and Africa, said:

“At Google, we know that climate change is top of mind for many of our users, with search interest for “energy crisis” hitting an all-time high in 2023. That’s why we are committed to developing sustainable solutions for our users, businesses, governments and our own operations.”

The announcement includes the purchase of 478 MW from two new offshore windfarms in the Netherlands: Crosswind–a joint venture between Shell and Dutch company Eneco–and Ecowend. These windfarms are expected to contribute about 6% of the country’s annual electricity consumption.

Google has also entered into a long-term PPA for 47 MW with an onshore wind project in Italy, two new PPAs for 106 MW of solar generation capacity in Poland, and two new green energy deals in Belgium that will support bringing 11 new onshore windfarms to the grid for a total capacity of 84 MW.

Brittin added:

“These efforts are part of our commitment to accelerate the decarbonization of the world’s electricity systems, a core focus of our ambitious goal to run our data centers and office campuses on 24/7 carbon-free energy on every grid where we operate by 2030.

“At a time when the world relies more and more on digital services, Cloud computing and AI technologies, it is more important than ever to provide access to technology efficiently and sustainably.”