Google innovates with four-way Dutch renewables PPA

Google and three Dutch companies have agreed to an innovative power purchase agreement that will see the four multinationals divvy up energy from a wind project under construction.

The US tech company called its agreement with AkzoNobel, DSM and Philips a “unique partnership” to jointly purchase the entire power production from the Krammer wind farm in the Dutch province of Zeeland, scheduled to be in operation in 2019. Each company will get a quarter of 95 percent of the project's production, which equals about 350 GWh per year, while Krammer's shareholders will receive the remaining 5 percent.

In a blog post for Google, Francois Sterin, the company's director for global infrastructure, argued that the PPA would be key to funding the wind farm while helping the Netherlands meet its renewable energy target of 14 percent by the end of this decade.

“This agreement will allow our data center in Eemshaven to be powered with renewable energy from day one when it opens later this year,” he wrote. 

“The consortium represents a new approach for corporations to explore market opportunities, enter into renewable power purchase agreements and meet the demands of growing sustainability targets in a cost-effective and scalable way.”

Google ranks among the multinationals that use the most renewable enery to power their operations. The company now has six PPAs in the Nordics, seven in Europe and 19 globally.