Google announced today the launch of a new partnership with clean energy developer Intersect Power and alternative asset firm TPG, with plans to invest $20 billion in renewable power infrastructure by 2030 to enable the buildout of new data center capacity in the U.S., powered by clean energy.

Alongside the new partnership, Intersect Power announced that it has raised $800 million in a new funding round led by TPG’s climate-focused fund TPG Rise Climate and Google.

Founded in 2016, Intersect Power focuses on scalable and transformative clean energy projects. The company develops large clean energy resources that provide low-carbon electricity, fuels and other related products to customers in North America. TPG Rise Climate also led a $750 million financing for the company in 2022.

Sheldon Kimber, CEO and Founder of Intersect Power, said:

“This partnership is an evolution of the way hyperscalers and power providers have previously worked together. We can and are developing innovative solutions to expand data center capacity while reducing the strain on the grid. Deep, collaborative partnerships combined with creative problem-solving are the only way that we can meet the explosion of AI growth, as well as society’s accelerating electricity demand.”

The new partnership comes as Google and its tech giant peers look to address the growing emissions impact of their rapidly expanding data center footprints, as AI proliferation drives a significant increase in computing power demand. While Google has set 2030 goals to reach net zero emissions across its operations and value chain, and to reduce 50% of its combined Scope 1, 2, and 3 absolute emissions, on a 2019 basis, the company recently reported that its emissions increased by 13% in 2023, and are up by 48% since 2019, as its growing data center electricity consumption has outpaced its ability to bring carbon free energy projects online.

Under the new partnership, Intersect Power will build new clean energy assets, including renewable energy and storage, while Google will provide power offtake as an anchor tenant in co-located industrial parks, enabling new data centers to come online alongside new clean power capacity.

Amanda Peterson Corio, Global Head of Data Center Energy at Google, said:

“To realize AI’s potential, the growth in electricity demand must be met with new, clean power sources. The scale of AI presents an opportunity to completely rethink data center development — by co-locating them where possible with the grid-connected carbon-free energy that keeps them up and running. We’re bringing this opportunity to life by combining pioneers at the intersection of data centers and clean energy development to synchronize load growth with new power generation in a novel way.

Peterson Corio added that Google hopes to replicate the new model across the U.S and around the world.

The first co-located clean energy project under the new partnership is anticipated to be operational in 2026, and fully complete in 2027.

Jim Coulter, Executive Chairman of TPG and Managing Partner of TPG Rise Climate, said:

“The convergence of two megatrends — decarbonization and digitization — is creating unique opportunities for innovative partnerships. Bringing together a leading carbon-free power producer, one of the world’s largest hyperscalers and the leading private equity investor in climate solutions to capitalize on this opportunity, we are committed to delivering carbon-free data centers at lower cost and greater scale.”

Image source: Intersect Power