SoftBank Group’s U.S. renewable energy-focused platform SB Energy announced today an agreement with Google for the purchase of nearly 1 GW of renewable energy from four of its solar projects currently under development.

The renewable energy from the power purchase agreement (PPA) will be used to power Google’s data center in Midlothian, Texas and cloud region in Dallas.

Google parent Alphabet announced a 24/7 CFE ambition in 2020, aiming to run its entire business on carbon-free energy by 2030. Operating on 24/7 CFE means matching electricity demand with CFE supply every hour of every day, in every region where the company operates.

Google revealed earlier this year that 66% of its energy use was in line with this target in 2021, but the company also noted that headwinds including a lack of available renewable energy and delays to CFE construction caused by supply chain disruptions and interconnection challenges had slowed progress towards its goal.

Sana Ouji, Energy Lead at Google, said:

“Within the decade we’re aiming for every Google data center to operate on clean electricity every hour of every day. This goal requires us to continue to grow our caron-free energy portfolio. We’re excited to partner with SB Energy to bring online four solar projects that will meaningfully grow our portfolio of renewable energy projects in the region and bring additional clean energy jobs to Texas.”

The PPA represents around three quarters of the 1.2 GW of renewable energy from SB Energy’s Orion 1-3 and Eiffel solar projects, expected to be operational by mid-2024.

SB Energy currently owns and operates 1.7 GW of solar capacity, and the company stated that it is scaling rapidly, bolstered by the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. By early next year, the company expects to have started construction on an additional 1.3 GW of solar capacity.

SB Energy co-CEO Rich Hossfeld, said:

“SB Energy is thrilled to join forces with Google to provide clean energy to match Google’s Texas data center consumption. We share Google’s relentless drive to achieve critical climate goals through innovative infrastructure and technology and look forward to expanding our relationship with Google as we aim to deliver renewable energy that is local, reliable, and matched to load.”

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