Google has agreed to buy up to 407 megawatts (MW) of wind-sourced energy – its seventh and largest renewable energy purchase to date – from MidAmerican Energy, the US internet giant said in a statement on Tuesday, but did not disclose financial details.
The energy purchased through this agreement will be used to power Google’s Council Bluffs data center, resulting in the company’s current facilities in Council Bluffs being powered exclusively by renewable energy.
The wind power will come from MidAmerican Energy’s Wind VIII programme, which according to the press release, is part of the energy company’s initiative to bring 1,050MW of new Iowa wind power online by the end of 2015.
“At Google, we pursue a variety of approaches to power our operations with renewable energy,” said Gary Demasi, Google’s director of global infrastructure. “One great way to do this is by working with our utility partners like MidAmerican Energy, and we hope this agreement will inspire all of our utilities to work with us in finding ways to increase the supply of clean power,” he added.
The transaction brings the total amount Google has contracted for to over 1,000MW (1 gigawatt).
Most recently, the tech company entered a 10-year power purchase agreement with Swedish wind farm developer and operator Eolus Vind.
Headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, MidAmerican Energy provides electric services to 739,000 customers and natural gas services to 719,000 customers in Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska and South Dakota.
