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Google Data Center Energy and Location Strategy operations director Gary Demasi said: "Google has already committed to purchase more renewable energy than any other company and now, through a series of new wind and solar projects around the world, we’re one step closer to our goal of powering 100% of our operations with clean energy."
The company is planning to buy 61MW of solar energy for one of its US data centers , followed by around 200MW of wind power to other data centers in the US.
It will also buy 225MW of wind power to a fourth US site, 80MW of solar to its Chilean data centre, and 76MW of wind to its Swedish hub.
The search giant has already signed a power purchase agreement with EDF Renewable Energy under which the renewable energy provider will supply full output of the 201MW Great Western Wind Project, in Oklahoma to Google.
Google said: "These long-term contracts range from 10-20 years and provide projects with the financial certainty and scale necessary to build these wind and solar facilities — thus bringing new renewable energy onto the grid in these regions.
"For our part, these contracts not only help minimize the environmental impact of our services — they also make good business sense by ensuring good prices."
The six projects related to the initiative are expected to be concluded by 2017.
Google has joined other companies Procter & Gamble, Microsoft, Yahoo!, Groupo Modelo, and Walmart who have agreed to buy renewable power from EDF.
EDF Renewable Energy CEO and president Tristan Grimbert said: "The participation of Google to directly procure wind power demonstrates their understanding of both the environmental benefits of renewable energy as well as the business opportunity.
"We applaud their leadership in action around the climate change conversation and providing the financial certainty through the Power Purchase Agreement to remove a key barrier to building a wind project."
Image: EDF Renewable to Supply wind power to Google. Photo: courtesy of Businesswire.
