14 DAY TRIAL // Recent news informs us that search giant Google has decided to green up its working agenda and signed a contract with the Grand River Dam Authority, a utility that is to provide it with the energy required in order to keep its data center in Oklahoma up and running.
As we have previously reported, such data centers are major power consumers, which is why attempts to cut down on their ecological footprint by using renewables to meet their electricity demands are more than welcome from an environmental standpoint.
Although it may be true that this is not the first time when Google decided to look into the possibility of using green energy sources in order to power its data centers, Renewable Energy World reports that this is the first time when, rather than entering a partnership with solar or wind farm owners, the search giant opts for closing a deal with a utility.
Google's official blog explains how, “It's [the agreement] also a milestone for Google because it's a little different from the previous Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) we've signed, where we agreed to buy the energy directly from the developer who built the wind farm.”
Furthermore, “Although both options can make sense depending on the circumstances, we're excited about this collaboration because it makes the most of our respective strengths: utilities like GRDA are best positioned to integrate renewable energy into their generation mix and to deliver power.”
In other words, by getting its energy from this utility and not straight from solar or wind farm owners, Google will be sure of the fact that its power supply system will not experience any glitches or blackouts, seeing how utilities do a pretty good job in managing both supply and demand.
Although no information concerning the money behind this purchase agreement has yet been made available, Google agreed to make it public news that this particular contract will total 48 MW.