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Google (NASDAQ:GOOG)(NASDAQ:GOOGL) is investing in a Taiwan-based solar company, New Green Power, to provide more renewable electricity to help meet high demand for its data center, cloud region and offices in the island nation.
The investment is in partnership with BlackRock’s (BLK) Climate Infrastructure business and is expected to develop up to 1 GW of new solar capacity in Taiwan, which is currently heavily dependent on fossil fuels.
“Fossil fuels, including imported coal and natural gas, generate nearly 85% of Taiwan’s electricity,” Google said.
“Our investment in NGP, subject to regulatory approval, will serve as development capital toward its 1 GW pipeline of new solar projects, catalyzing critical equity and debt financing for those projects,” Google added. “We expect to procure up to 300 MW of solar energy from this pipeline through power purchase agreements and the associated energy attribute certificates.”
Generative artificial intelligence consumes high amounts of electricity. Meanwhile, Google maintains it goal to reach “24/7 carbon-free energy on every grid where we operate” by 2030.
Goldman Sachs research found that AI will accelerate power demand in data centers by 160% by 2030. Data centers currently consume 1-2% of all the world’s power, but that is expected to climb to 3-4% by 2030.
“As we witness growth in demand for digital services, powered by AI and data-centric technologies, it becomes imperative to invest in clean energy,” said BlackRock’s David Giordano.
