Google Buys Offshore Wind Power from Ørsted

November 30, 2021, by Adnan Durakovic

Ørsted has signed a 12-year corporate power purchase agreement (CPPA) with Google under which Google will offtake 50 MW of Ørsted’s planned 900 MW Borkum Riffgrund 3 offshore wind farm in the German North Sea.

Borkum Riffgrund 3 was the world’s first large-scale offshore wind farm to be awarded a zero bid and is expected to go into full commercial operation in 2025, Ørsted said.

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As the project was awarded without government subsidies, the CPPA with Google will contribute to providing revenue certainty for Ørsted and help mature Borkum Riffgrund 3 towards a final investment decision, which is expected by the end of 2021, the developer said.

The CPPA with Ørsted will contribute to Google’s commitment of operating all their data centres, cloud regions, and campuses on 24/7 carbon-free energy by 2030.

”We commend Google for their leading role in fighting climate change by investing in additional renewable energy, and we’re proud to contribute to their ambitious climate targets. Ørsted is continuously proving that we can support corporations across sectors and technologies with clean energy solutions. This CPPA demonstrates that offshore wind plays a critical role in enabling a 24/7 carbon-free energy solution in Europe,” Rasmus Errboe, Head of Region Continental Europe at Ørsted, said.

Google has pioneered the concept of 24/7 carbon free energy, where every kWh of power consumption is matched by carbon-free electricity production every hour, on the grid where the electricity is consumed. The power from Borkum Riffgrund 3 will bring Google a step closer to delivering on their 24/7 commitment in Germany.

”We are delighted to partner with Ørsted on this project that will help Google achieve its 24/7 carbon-free goal in Germany. We share Ørsted’s commitment for a carbon-free future, and are optimistic about the important role offshore wind can play in enabling other entities to join the 24/7 carbon-free movement,” Amanda Peterson Corio, Head of Data Center Energy Development at Google, said.