Google Boasts Its Green Credentials with 20-Year Clean Energy Deal

Google has been making some serious moves in the energy sector, but, though it’s not afraid to take on new markets, these have been made in order to bring down the company’s carbon footprint. This is an important goal for Google and it has been attacking it from different angles. Now the company is announcing that it has signed a long-term deal to buy 114 megawatts of power at a constant rate from a wind farm company.

“We just completed a substantial 20-year green Power Purchase Agreement that allows us to take responsibility for our footprint and foster true growth in the renewable energy sector. On July 30 we will begin purchasing the clean energy from 114 megawatts of wind generation at the NextEra Energy Resources Story County II facility in Iowa at a predetermined rate for 20 years. Incorporating such a large amount of wind power into our portfolio is tricky, but this power is enough to supply several data centers,” Urs Hoelzle, Senior Vice President, Operations at Google, announced.

Obviously, Google doesn’t really need to sign this kind of deal out front, but it has done so in order to supply the clean energy company with a steady and reliable revenue so that it can continue to invest in more turbines and locations. The financial stability will allow it to do bolder investments and also provides a guarantee for financial institutions or potential investors.

Interestingly, Google has also invested heavily in the company, funding it with $38.8 million a couple of months ago. NextEra Energy Resources secured $190 million in funding in total for two wind turbine facilities in Iowa. Now, Google is also becoming one of its biggest customers.

The search giant has several strategies for reducing its carbon footprint. On the one hand, it tries to use the least amount of energy possible to power its operations. Data centers are very energy-hungry, but Google boasts some of the most efficient in the world. On the other hand, it tries to use clean energy whenever possible. It also has one of the largest corporate solar power installations at its Googleplex headquarters in Mountain View.