Google has acquired a stake in Taiwan's New Green Power and may purchase up to 300 megawatts of renewable energy from the firm, which is owned by a fund managed by BlackRock. This initiative is part of Google's strategy to minimize carbon emissions from its operations and supply chain.
Google's goal is to operate entirely on carbon-free energy, but the growing demand for data-processing capacity to support artificial intelligence has increased emissions. Taiwan, home to a Google data center and offices, relies on fossil fuels for nearly 85% of its power, according to Amanda Peterson Corio, Google's Global Head of Data Center Energy.
“The goal of this investment is really to support the build-out of a large-scale solar pipeline in Taiwan,” Corio said.
Decarbonizing regions like Asia Pacific is challenging due to underdeveloped infrastructure and restrictions on corporate green power purchases. New Green Power, managed by BlackRock's Climate Infrastructure business, is a leading solar developer and operator in Taiwan, noted David Giordano, BlackRock's Global Head of Climate Infrastructure.
Although Google and BlackRock did not disclose the size of Google's equity stake in New Green Power, Corio mentioned that the investment would support the financing of a 1 gigawatt solar pipeline. Taiwan aims to achieve 20 gigawatts of solar capacity by 2025 and up to 80 gigawatts by 2050, according to BlackRock.
Corio also stated that Google plans to use some of the purchased solar power for its operations and share it with suppliers and manufacturers in the region, helping to lower its Scope 3 emissions, which are related to its value chain.
