Google Bought All Of A Major Solar Farm's Output To Offset Its Dirty Data Center Emissions
The massive project will output 1.6GW of solar power upon startup, enough to power 315,000 homes.
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Google has struck a deal to purchase a major solar project's entire electrical output to offset its fossil fuel emissions, The Financial Times reports. The search giant will take 100 percent of the initial output from Steel River Energy Center in Arkansas once it comes online in 2029, amounting to 1.6 gigawatts (GW) of solar power and 2GW of battery storage — enough to power 315,000 homes.
Google will pay a fixed cost for the electricity from the solar plant, but won't use it directly. Instead, it will draw from the grid powered by a mix of coal, nuclear, renewables and natural gas, along with its own on-site power (typically gas turbines and engines).
Energy from the Steel River Energy Center solar project will form part of that grid mix. Once...
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