Google is trying to operate entirely on carbon-free energy at all its locations. However, the growing demand for data-processing capacity, owing to increased usage of AI, has made this ambitious road a bit turbulent.
Amanda Peterson Corio, Google’s Global Head of Data Center Energy, said in the report that Taiwan, which is a key location for Google’s cloud technology with a data center and company offices, still relies on fossil fuels for nearly 85 per cent of its power generation.
“The goal of this investment is really to support the build out of a large-scale solar pipeline in Taiwan,” Corio added.
Both Google and BlackRock did not disclose the size of their equity stake in New Green Power (NGP). However, Corio mentioned that the investment is likely to support the equity and debt financing needed to develop NGP’s 1 gigawatt (GW) pipeline.
Presently, Taiwan is plannning to achieve 20 GW of solar capacity by 2025 and up to 80 GW by 2050. Corio added that Google is reportedly planning to use some of the solar power it purchases to support its own operations and to provide some to its suppliers and manufacturers in the region.