Google bets on cheap solar via ‘biggest’ clean energy buy to date

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Google's 5.4GW clean energy portfolio resulting from the 1.6GW move could power entire countries such as Lithuania, the firm said (Image credit: Google)

Tumbling solar costs have spurred Google on to a dramatic boost of its exposure to the technology, acting to line up supply from projects worldwide as part of a major clean energy push.

On Thursday, the technology giant unveiled plans to purchase a whopping 1.6GW of renewable electricity via 18 separate deals across the globe, featuring solar and wind projects.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

The clean energy procurement ramp-up – reportedly the largest in Google’s history – will see the firm double its existing global volumes of contracted solar power, according to CEO Sundar Pichai.

In a statement, Pichai explained 720MW of the worldwide 1.6GW will be secured from US solar projects, split between Texas (490MW), North Carolina (155MW) and South Carolina (75MW).

Where Google’s US clean energy buys to date were “wind-driven”, solar cost declines of 80% in the past decade have made “harnessing the sun increasingly cost-effective”, Pichai said.

Lower costs whet PV appetite for cloudy Denmark

Google’s solar appetites will also take the corporate to Chile, where a 125MW new venture will pair solar with wind in a bid to maximise clean energy power coverage.

The project – the firm's first such hybrid buy – will allow Google to match its Chilean data centre with carbon-free electricity for a “larger portion of each day”, CEO Pichai pointed out.

The executive noted that 793MW of the 1.6GW will be supplied by European projects, planned in Finland (255 MW), Sweden (286 MW), Belgium (92 MW), and Denmark (160 MW).

Contacted by PV Tech today, a person with knowledge of the clean energy push said Denmark’s 160MW – a five-project pipeline – is Google’s only new PV deal in Europe, the rest being wind.

Google, this publication understands, has not historically seen cloudier Denmark as a prime solar location but technology cost drops have prompted a rethink.

In Denmark, where regulators foresee a multi-gigawatt solar boom within decades, the 160MW of PV will power Google's first data centre in the country, already being built.

All new plants, all set to go live in 2022

The 1.6GW move brings Google’s cumulative clean energy portfolio up to 5.4GW, a marked jump from the procured volumes in 2016 (2.3GW), 2017 (2.9GW) and 2018 (3.8GW).

As noted by CEO Pichai, the corporate’s long-running “additionality” principles mean the fresh 1.6GW in contracted supply will come exclusively from new plants.

Once all 1.6GW are live – all plants should be ready by late 2022, PV Tech understands – the resulting 5.4GW portfolio could power entire countries such as Lithuania or Uruguay, Pichai added.

Even before this week’s major procurement effort, Google was with Amazon and Facebook one of top three clean energy offtakers in the US, where corporate PV appetite is on a sharp rise.

In Europe, all three technology a-listers added their names to a letter in June urging the bloc to enact PPA-friendly legislation, bringing down regulatory obstacles at national level.

US solar prospects amid PPA uptake and a changing policy landscape will take centre stage at Solar Media's Solar & Storage Finance USA, to be held in New York on 29-30 October 2019

17 June 2025
Napa, USA
PV Tech has been running PV ModuleTech Conferences since 2017. PV ModuleTech USA, on 17-18 June 2025, will be our fourth PV ModulelTech conference dedicated to the U.S. utility scale solar sector. The event will gather the key stakeholders from solar developers, solar asset owners and investors, PV manufacturing, policy-making and and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out the PV module supply channels to the U.S. out to 2026 and beyond.
7 October 2025
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
PV Tech has been running an annual PV CellTech Conference since 2016. PV CellTech USA, on 7-8 October 2025 is our third PV CellTech conference dedicated to the U.S. manufacturing sector. The events in 2023 and 2024 were a sell out success and 2025 will once again gather the key stakeholders from PV manufacturing, equipment/materials, policy-making and strategy, capital equipment investment and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out PV manufacturing in the U.S. out to 2030 and beyond.
21 October 2025
New York, USA
Returning for its 12th edition, Solar and Storage Finance USA Summit remains the annual event where decision-makers at the forefront of solar and storage projects across the United States and capital converge. Featuring the most active solar and storage transactors, join us for a packed two-days of deal-making, learning and networking.
2 December 2025
Málaga, Spain
Understanding PV module supply to the European market in 2026. PV ModuleTech Europe 2025 is a two-day conference that tackles these challenges directly, with an agenda that addresses all aspects of module supplier selection; product availability, technology offerings, traceability of supply-chain, factory auditing, module testing and reliability, and company bankability.
10 March 2026
Frankfurt, Germany
The conference will gather the key stakeholders from PV manufacturing, equipment/materials, policy-making and strategy, capital equipment investment and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out PV manufacturing out to 2030 and beyond.

Read Next

June 9, 2025
Solar manufacturer Qcells has launched a recycling arm, called EcoRecycle, and a recycling plant in the US state of Georgia.
June 9, 2025
Sonnedix has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Renfe to supply 420GWh of renewable energy annually for its commercial operations.
June 9, 2025
Growing political headwinds threaten to dent US solar manufacturing and project deployment, despite a strong start to 2025.
June 9, 2025
US residential solar installer Sunnova has laid off more than half of its workforce, while a subsidiary from Delaware filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
June 6, 2025
rPlus Energies has secured more than US$500 million for an 800MW solar-plus-storage project in Emery County, Utah, US.  
June 6, 2025
Eternal Sun has acquired German solar simulator provider Wavelabs, which has resulted in the formation of a new subsidy, Wavelabs Eternal Sun.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
June 17, 2025
Napa, USA
Upcoming Webinars
June 30, 2025
10am PST / 6pm BST
Solar Media Events
July 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
July 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece