The wind farms are to be built in four municipalities in southern Sweden. Google will purchase the generated power for a period of ten years starting in early 2015. The new power purchase agreement (PPA) is Google’s second such agreement in Sweden in less than 12 months, and sixth agreement globally to procure renewable energy for its data centres.
The deal will provide Google’s Hamina data centre in Finland with additional renewable energy as the facility expands over the coming years. The cross-border arrangement has been made possible by Europe’s increasingly integrated energy market and, in particular, Scandinavia’s Nord Pool market. This allows Google to buy renewable energy with Guarantee of Origin certification in Sweden, and consume an equivalent amount of power elsewhere in Europe.
Eolus will now commence construction of the four new wind farms in Alered, Mungseröd, Skalleberg and Ramsnäs, Sweden. The 29-turbine project will generate a total combined capacity of 59MW and already has all the relevant planning approvals and permits. The wind farms will become fully operational in early 2015. Eolus will operate the wind farms once operational.
“We’re always looking for ways to increase the amount of renewable energy we use” said Francois Sterin, Google’s Director Global Infrastructure. “Long term power purchase agreements enable wind farm developers to add new generation capacity to the grid - which is good for the environment - but they also make great financial sense for companies like Google.”
Hans-Christian Schulze, deputy CEO of Eolus added that the agreement is a further endorsement of the potential of wind power in the Nordic countries.
For additional information:
