Google Inks its Initial Solar Procurement Deal in Asia

Google has announced that subsequent to inking on to more than 30 solar and wind projects across the America and Europe, it has now added a fourth continent in Asia to its clean energy portfolio.

The world’s largest corporate procurer of renewable energy has signed a long-term agreement to obtain the output of a 10 MW solar group (part of a larger solar farm) in Tainan City, Taiwan.

The deal is an outcome of association between Google, industry stakeholders and the Taiwanese government, which lately revised Taiwan’s Electricity Act to permit non-utility companies to directly purchase renewable energy and shrink their carbon footprints. Google is the foremost corporate power buyer to act on this renewables-friendly change to the law.

Standing 40,000 solar panels strong, the project in Taiwan will be located 100 Km south of our Changhua County data center and connected to the same regional power grid.

For Google, the solar purchase agreement provides a long-term and fixed electricity price to sustain its operations in Taiwan; it will also enhance the carbon-free profile of its local data center. In addition, it’s a step in the right direction for grid reliability and Taiwan’s broader energy supply mix, which the government wants to develop and make more renewable in the coming years.

The project will have a distinctive design and community impact, with poles mounted into commercial fishing ponds to elevate solar panels several feet into the sky. This setup will capitalize on land-use efficiency, revere local ecology, and generate local economic benefits with the fishing community getting rewarded for hosting solar panels on its ponds.