Key Points
- Google signed the world’s largest corporate hydropower deal with Brookfield Asset Management for up to 3 gigawatts of power.
- The deal is designed to power Google’s energy-intensive AI and cloud data centers.
- The initial 20-year agreement is valued at $3 billion and will utilize power from two upgraded plants in Pennsylvania.
- Google is also investing a massive $25 billion in new data centers in Pennsylvania and nearby states.
Google is making a huge move to power its growing network of data centers, signing the world’s largest corporate deal for hydropower. The tech giant announced on Tuesday that it has partnered with Brookfield Asset Management to secure up to 3 gigawatts of clean energy from U.S. hydroelectric plants.
The initial agreement is a massive 20-year deal worth $3 billion. It will pull electricity from two hydropower facilities in Pennsylvania that will be upgraded as part of the arrangement. This clean power is desperately needed to fuel the tech industry’s massive expansion, which is driven by the enormous energy demands of artificial intelligence and cloud computing.
This power pact is just one part of a much larger investment in the region. Google also plans to spend $25 billion on data centers across Pennsylvania and neighboring states over the next two years. The news highlights a major trend: after nearly two decades of flat energy use, the U.S. is experiencing record-high power consumption, largely due to the growing demand for electricity by Big Tech.
“This collaboration with Brookfield is a significant step forward, ensuring clean energy supply in the PJM region where we operate,” said Amanda Peterson Corio, Google’s head of data center energy.
This deal is part of Google’s broader strategy to secure around-the-clock clean energy. The company has recently signed other first-of-their-kind deals for geothermal and advanced nuclear power. Google also plans to expand this hydropower partnership with Brookfield to other parts of the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest, demonstrating its long-term commitment to identifying substantial sources of clean electricity.
