- 1.2 GW of new carbon free capacity contracted across Missouri, Texas and West Virginia
- Multi decade PPAs linked to SPP, ERCOT and PJM market areas for data center load
- More than $2.4 billion in clean infrastructure investment slated to begin construction this year
Google has signed three long term power purchase agreements with Clearway Energy Group totaling 1.2 gigawatts of carbon free capacity to serve the company’s expanding US data center footprint across three regional power markets.
Clearway, which operates a 10.3 gigawatt fleet of renewable and storage assets, confirmed Thursday that the deals will supply Google’s facilities in the SPP, ERCOT and PJM territories for up to twenty years. All projects are scheduled to begin construction this year, with first generation expected online in 2027 and 2028.
Google is procuring hourly matched carbon free electricity as part of its broader push to decarbonize digital operations. The company has been growing its data center presence to support cloud, artificial intelligence and consumer platform workloads, creating sizeable incremental demand for electricity and grid capacity.
Project Portfolio and Market Exposure
The 1.2 GW tranche spans three states with different grid characteristics. Missouri and West Virginia sit within PJM and SPP, both markets grappling with transmission congestion, renewable interconnection queues and ongoing resource adequacy debates. Texas, under ERCOT, remains a high growth data center and crypto mining state with significant renewable penetration and a volatile energy only market design that has pushed developers and load serving customers toward tailored commercial structures and flexible offtake agreements.
Clearway noted that the combined infrastructure investment for the portfolio exceeds $2.4 billion. The company expects the projects to add renewable and storage capacity that can firm output and reduce curtailment risk, which has become a core concern for utility scale developers and offtakers in high solar penetration markets.
Corporate Demand and Load Growth
Technology companies have become the most active corporate buyers of clean power in North America as AI and cloud computing expand. Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta have all turned to tailored PPA structures, storage hybrids and market specific procurement strategies that seek hourly carbon matching rather than annual certificates alone.
“Strengthening the grid by deploying more reliable and clean energy is crucial for supporting the digital infrastructure that businesses and individuals depend on,” said Amanda Peterson Corio, global head of data center energy at Google.
The agreements build on Google’s existing 71.5 megawatt offtake with Clearway in West Virginia and coincide with Google’s extension of a carbon free energy partnership with Engie in Germany. The Engie deal provides hourly matched renewable supply backed by new onshore wind and solar projects, with storage used to manage intermittency and align output with operations.
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Financing, Regulation and Climate Targets
Multi decade PPAs have become essential for developers to secure project finance in a rate environment that remains elevated and in a grid landscape where interconnection timelines are lengthening. Financial sponsors have been seeking visibility on revenue streams to structure tax equity, construction debt and long term ownership vehicles that can monetize production and investment credits under the US Inflation Reduction Act.
For policymakers, the growth of data center load is emerging as a material planning issue. Regional transmission operators are revising load forecasts upward and weighing new tariff designs and capacity accreditation rules for storage and hybrid resources. Regulators are also assessing how corporate clean power procurement can accelerate new build capacity without shifting grid costs to residential ratepayers.
Strategic Takeaways for Executives and Investors
For corporate buyers, the Clearway Google agreements affirm that hourly matched carbon free power is progressing beyond pilots and into multi gigawatt procurement. For developers, hybrid resources and flexible commercial structures are becoming a prerequisite in competitive markets. For investors, long dated digital load may offer a stable anchor to finance large scale renewables and storage during a period of uncertain merchant prices and evolving capacity market rules.
The global significance lies in how corporate demand can accelerate grid decarbonization and infrastructure buildout. If more jurisdictions adopt hourly carbon accounting frameworks, the market for storage, clean firm power and flexible PPAs will deepen, influencing both energy system planning and climate policy.
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