Commentary

Will Google Become An Energy Broker To Power Internet Technology?

Google on Thursday announced two new grants from Google.org to provide support for organizations — from small flower shops to big-box retailers — that want to purchase renewable energy.

Sundar Pichai, Google CEO, explained in a post how Google will provide a $500,000 grant to Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance (REBA) in the U.S. and a 500,000 euro grant to RE-Source in Europe.

“These grants will help fund the development of new purchasing models, provide training and resources for consumers, and enable more widespread access to clean power,” he wrote.

The grants are based on new investments that Google plans to make in renewable energy — in fact, $2 billion in new renewable energy infrastructure across the U.S., South America and Europe.

“Once all these projects come online, our carbon-free energy portfolio will produce more electricity than places like Washington D.C. or entire countries like Lithuania or Uruguay use each year,” Pichai wrote.  

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Energy powers servers that allow marketers to serve up paid-search ads and enable consumers to search for information on goods and products.

At first glance, the purchase may not seem significant, but the package of up to 1,600 megawatts of wind and solar includes 18 new energy deals.

These deals span the globe, including investments in the U.S., Chile and Europe. In the U.S., Google will purchase energy from 720 MW of solar farms in North Carolina, 155 MW, South Carolina 75 MW, and Texas 490 MW.

Nearly half — 793 MW — of this new renewable energy capacity purchased will be located in Europe, with Finland comprising 255 MW, Sweden 286 MW, Belgium 92 MW, and Denmark 160 MW.

These deals increase the company’s renewable energy portfolio by more than 40%.

Google said the purchase amounts to the largest corporate purchase for renewable energy in the world.

The agreements also trigger the construction of more than $2 billion in new energy infrastructure, including millions of solar panels and hundreds of wind turbines spread across three continents.

Overall, renewable energy for Google now adds up to 52 projects, driving more than $7 billion in new construction and thousands of related jobs.   

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