Rapidly gaining a reputation for its commitment to clean energy projects, Google (News - Alert) announced Tuesday that it has agreed to purchase the total electricity output from a wind farm in northern Sweden to power its data center in Hamina, Finland, known for its energy-efficient design.
Google reached the agreement with wind farm developer, O2 (News - Alert) Vind AB, enabling the company to secure 100 percent of financing to commence construction of a new plant at Maevarra. Although the financial terms of the deal have yet to be disclosed, Google explained that the deployment will allow the company to supply its data center with wind energy for 10 years. The Nordic wind farm will be added to Google’s growing list of global green ventures, though it is its first power purchase agreement in Europe.
Expected to be fully operational by early 2015, the 24-turbine wind farm with a capacity of 72 megawatts will be located within the integrated electric market and grid system spanning Scandinavia, Nord Pool. Munich-based insurance company Allianz SE will assume ownership upon its completion while O2 maintains management.
The agreement follows a series of sustainable energy initiatives recently pursued by Google including last week’s Makani Power acquisition and 12 million dollar investment in a solar power plant in South Africa. The Internet search giant has devoted over 1 billion dollars to renewable energy projects.
“As a carbon-neutral company, we’re always looking for ways to increase the amount of renewable energy we use,” Urs Hölzle, senior vice-president of technical infrastructure at Google said in a Financial Times article. “This long-term agreement, our fourth globally, means we can power our Finnish data centre with clean energy – and add new wind-generation capacity to the European grid.”
In the company’s efforts to reduce its carbon footprint and reduce emissions, Google has spurred other companies to follow its suit. For example, Apple (News - Alert) recently built a solar and cell fuel farm for its data center in North Carolina.
Edited by Rich Steeves