Google, for the first time, inked an agreement to purchase geothermal energy for its facilities in Asia. The deal also marks the first geothermal power purchase agreement for Taiwan, according to the company.
Google’s geothermal energy ambitions are growing
The company signed the first deal of its kind to develop geothermal energy projects in Taiwan.
The company signed the first deal of its kind to develop geothermal energy projects in Taiwan.
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge
is a senior science reporter covering energy and the environment with more than a decade of experience. She is also the host of Hell or High Water: When Disaster Hits Home, a podcast from Vox Media and Audible Originals.
Google is working toward climate goals of cutting the company’s planet-heating emissions in half and matching its electricity use with carbon-free energy purchases around-the-clock by 2030. Geothermal energy comes from heat emanating from within Earth, making it a renewable source of electricity that can help eliminate the fossil fuel pollution causing climate change.
The deal also marks the first geothermal power purchase agreement for Taiwan
International geothermal developer Baseload Capital struck the deal with Google that was announced today. Power purchase agreements (PPAs) like this one help developers build out new renewable energy projects by guaranteeing there will be customers ahead of time. Baseload Capital says the deal will help it add 10 megawatts of carbon-free energy to Taiwan’s power grid by 2029, which would double Taiwan’s current commercial geothermal capacity.
The projects would help power Google’s facilities in the region, including a data center, offices, and the tech giant’s largest hardware research and development hub outside of the US. Google also said it would make an equity investment in Baseload Capital, although it declined to share numbers for how much it would spend on its “long-term partnership” with the energy developer.
In the US, Google has partnered with startup Fervo to support the development of advanced technology to make geothermal energy available beyond existing natural reservoirs of hot water and steam. Outside of Taiwan, Google says it’s also considering pursuing similar geothermal deals in Japan and Indonesia. And in December, Google announced it was working with the University of Newcastle to research geothermal energy development in Australia.
“We hope this first corporate agreement for geothermal in Taiwan will help to scale corporate procurement for geothermal projects across the region and worldwide,” Michael Terrell, senior director of clean energy and carbon reduction at Google, said in a press release today.
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