Google has announced a new partnership with New Green Power, a Taiwanese solar developer owned by BlackRock, to support the development of a 1-gigawatt pipeline of new solar capacity in Taiwan. The U.S. tech giant will make a capital investment in NGP to facilitate the buildout of its large-scale solar projects. Amanda Peterson Corio, global head of data center energy at Google, said, “We expect to procure up to 300 megawatts of solar energy from this pipeline through power purchase agreements (PPAs) and the associated energy attribute certificates (Taiwan Renewable Energy Certificates or T-RECS) to help meet electricity demand from our data center campus, cloud region, and office operations in Taiwan.”
Some of the clean energy capacity will also be offered to Google’s chip suppliers and manufacturers in the region to help them achieve their own sustainability goals, thereby reducing Google’s Scope 3 emissions.
This initiative is part of Google’s broader goal to reach net-zero emissions across its operations and value chain by 2030, which includes running on 24/7 carbon-free energy on every grid where it operates. The investment aims to boost clean energy on Taiwan’s local electricity grid and help Google achieve its sustainability targets. David Giordano, BlackRock’s Global Head of Climate Infrastructure, emphasized the importance of investing in clean energy given the growth in demand for digital services powered by AI and data-centric technologies.
He commented, “The partnership is a testament to the shared commitment between Google and BlackRock to driving the transition to a low-carbon economy.”
Many countries in the Asia Pacific region face challenges in adding new carbon-free energy sources due to land constraints, limited availability of commercially scalable renewable resources, and high construction costs.
Google’s push for sustainable energy
Consequently, fossil fuels currently generate a significant portion of the energy in the region.
Google’s investment in NGP will serve as development capital for new solar projects, providing critical equity and debt financing. The cooperation builds on over five years of collaboration between Google and BlackRock to promote clean energy transition through market and policy development across Asia Pacific. Google’s advocacy efforts were instrumental in the 2017 amendment of Taiwan’s Electricity Act, which opened the market to allow non-utility companies to directly purchase renewable energy.
Furthermore, Google is working with partners to support policies that accelerate the decarbonization of electricity grids. The company is a founding member of the Asia Clean Energy Coalition (ACEC), which unites energy buyers, suppliers, and policymakers to improve the policy and regulatory environment for corporate renewable electricity purchasing. This partnership represents a significant milestone in Google’s journey toward achieving its net-zero and carbon-free energy goals, as well as in the broader shift towards sustainable energy sources amidst increasing pressure from technology-driven energy consumption.
