Google, hyperscale data center specialist AirTrunk, and global renewable energy provider OX2 recently announced a long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) and the development of a new solar farm expected to add 25 megawatts (MW) of new renewable energy generation capacity into Australia’s energy grid.
Under the agreement, OX2 will develop a new solar farm in the Riverina district of New South Wales – helping to advance Google’s ambitious 2030 goal to run on 24/7 carbon-free energy on every grid where they operate.
“Industry collaboration and innovation are crucial to achieving our ambitious sustainability objectives, including our efforts to drive a substantial increase in carbon-free energy capacity across the Asia Pacific region,” said Mel Silva, Managing Director, Google Australia. “As part of our broader Digital Future Initiative, this project will see us support local infrastructure to tackle big challenges like climate change while also further solidifying the foundations of a growth-centric yet sustainable digital economy.”
Under the innovative agreement structure, AirTrunk will procure the renewable energy generated by OX2’s solar farm and associated energy attribute certificates with time-matching to Google’s consumption. The solar farm is expected to begin generating power in 2025.
“Our collaboration with Google and OX2 will deliver new renewable energy capacity into the grid on the east coast of Australia. Developments like this are critical to accelerating progress towards a carbon-free future in Australia,” said Damien Spillane, AirTrunk Chief Customer and Innovation Officer.
Rachel Watson, OX2 Australia Country Manager remarked, “This is a very exciting project for OX2 to be involved in, as we establish a new relationship with AirTrunk and Google. Their commitment to buying carbon-free energy is helping to accelerate the energy transition, and get more renewable energy into the system.”