Google Signs its First Renewable Energy Purchase Deals in Japan

Google has announced its first two solar power purchase agreements (PPAs) in Japan, supporting the development of new solar projects that will contribute an additional 60 MW of clean energy to the Japanese grid.

According to Google, these agreements are part of its commitment to power all operations with 24/7 carbon-free energy (CFE) by 2030. Google’s parent company, Alphabet, set this 24/7 CFE goal in 2020, aiming to run its entire business on carbon-free energy around the clock by 2030. This means matching its electricity demand with CFE supply every hour of every day in all regions where it operates. These new clean energy deals follow the opening of Google’s first data center in Japan last year, located in Inzai City, Chiba prefecture.

The new PPAs include an agreement with Clean Energy Connect, a partner of Itochu Corporation, for a project comprising around 800 small-scale solar plants across various grid regions in Japan. This approach addresses the challenge of limited land availability for large-scale solar projects in the country. Additionally, Google has announced a PPA with Shizen Energy to develop a 20 MW utility-scale solar project on the same power grid as Google’s new data center in Inzai City.