As part of Google's efforts to have its energy at 100 percent from renewables, it announced Thursday that it will buy a combined 536 megawatts (MW) of new wind capacity from four U.S. wind farms.
The tech giant is one of the global leaders in renewable energy procurement, announcing last year that its offices and data centers would be powered by 100 percent renewables by the end of 2017.
According to the announcement, one 200 MW power purchase agreement (PPA) was signed with EDF Renewable Energy for the entire output of the planned Glaciers Edge wind farm in Iowa.
The two other 98 MW PPAs were signed with Avangrid Renewables for the Coyote Ridge and Tatanka Ridge wind farms in South Dakota.
In addition, one 140 MW PPA was signed with the Grand River Dam Authority (GRDA) for output from Enel Green Power North America’s 300 MW planned Red Dirt wind farm in Oklahoma.
According to the American Wind Energy Association's statement, Gary Demasi, Google’s director of global infrastructure explained that wind energy represents a low-risk, high-value investment for Google.
He said that renewables projects bring value to the company's businesses as they scale and accelerate investment in the communities where Google operates.
'...with solar and wind declining dramatically in cost and propelling significant employment growth, the transition to clean energy is driving unprecedented economic opportunity and doing so faster than we ever anticipated,' he said.
By Gulsen Cagatay
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr