Google is working to advance policies that promote cost-effective clean energy deployment and regional market integration.
The path to decarbonisation — switching from the use of fossil fuels to renewable energy sources — cannot be treated as a one-size-fits all. Every area has its own energy landscape, geography and regulatory environment, meaning that electric decarbonisation requires a tailored solution for each locale.
In Asia-Pacific, the electricity grid and availability of clean energy resources can vary significantly from country to country. Google’s progress in the region to advance its 2030 goal for 24/7 carbon-free energy (CFE) has steadily been gaining momentum. Over the past year, Google has announced long-term agreements for 275 megawatts of new clean energy generation capacity in the region, in addition to supporting the development of a 1 gigawatt pipeline of new solar capacity in Taiwan.
Here are three ways Google is working to put more carbon-free energy onto its operated grids in Asia-Pacific.
Challenges of local constraints
In densely populated Japan, land for large-scale solar projects is limited. Here, Google saw an opportunity to work with partners to develop a network of hundreds of small-scale solar plants on available plots of land across multiple prefectures. The energy aggregated from these small projects supports our data centre, cloud region and office operations. This structure can serve as a model for other Asian markets facing similar land constraints.
And in Singapore, where natural clean energy resources are limited, Google worked with its industry partners to purchase power from a first-of-a-kind biomass power plant fueled by domestic waste resources and equipped with pilot technology to capture and use carbon dioxide. In land-constrained regions, ensuring high energy generation productivity is crucial. The annual electricity output from this project is approximately six times that of a comparably sized solar project in Singapore, delivering more power with less space.
Partnerships for shared goals
Google said, “We know that we cannot achieve 24/7 CFE alone, and that industry collaboration is necessary for a sustainable digital future. In Australia and India, we’ve created unique contract structures involving multiple parties, expanding clean energy on each country’s grid and delivering carbon-free power to our cloud regions in Melbourne, Sydney, Mumbai and Delhi NCR,” in an announcement.
Google’s clean energy efforts also extend beyond its own operations. “Through our partnership in Taiwan, we now have an opportunity to offer our semiconductor suppliers and manufacturers in the region a portion of this clean energy capacity so they, too, can advance their own sustainability goals. In turn, we’ll be able to reduce our Scope 3 emissions: the indirect emissions from our value chain.”
Policies for clean energy
In tandem with Google’s pursuit of new commercial solutions, it is working to advance policies that promote cost-effective clean energy deployment and regional market integration. As a founding member of the Asia Clean Energy Coalition (ACEC), Google is uniting energy buyers, suppliers and policymakers to accelerate regional decarbonisation efforts. ACEC supports regional interconnection through the ASEAN Power Grid, while advocating to expand clean energy supply and a broad portfolio of procurement options.
“As we continue driving progress on our 24/7 carbon-free goal, we’re proving that it’s possible to turn challenges into opportunities in Asia-Pacific and work together to power a cleaner future for everyone.”
