Google has entered into long-term energy buy agreements (PPAs) with Texas-based Leeward Renewable Vitality (LRE) to help greater than 700 MW of solar energy tasks in Oklahoma. Google on Jan. 16 mentioned, “the tasks are strategically situated to help our information middle operations,” noting that one set up is “situated lower than one mile from our information middle in Pryor, Oklahoma.”
LRE in a information launch mentioned the three photo voltaic farms collectively could have 724 MW of solar energy technology capability. The tasks embody the 372-MW Mayes County Photo voltaic Portfolio, which incorporates three tasks and is situated close to Google’s information middle in Pryor. The opposite installations are Twelvemile Photo voltaic Challenge 1 & 2, which collectively have 152.5 MW of capability, and the 200-MW Twelvemile 3 Photo voltaic Challenge. The three Twelvemile photo voltaic farms are situated in Southern Oklahoma.
“We’re proud to develop our presence in Oklahoma with these tasks that are ideally situated to help Google’s information middle operations,” mentioned Eran Mahrer, chief industrial officer at LRE. “This partnership with Google not solely strengthens our collaboration but additionally contributes to the reliability of Oklahoma’s electrical grid and helps advance nationwide power independence. By using domestically manufactured gear and creating job alternatives for Oklahomans, these tasks ship tangible advantages to native communities navigating the power transition. They underscore our dedication to accountable growth and fostering financial development in areas essential to the way forward for power.”
Some teams inside Oklahoma need the state’s Republican governor, Kevin Stitt, to challenge an government order banning building of recent renewable power tasks inside the state. Gentner Drummond, the state’s lawyer common, led a latest rally on the state capitol wherein he referred to as for a ban. Oklahoma’s financial system lengthy has relied on oil and fuel exploration, although the state is also the nation’s third-largest generator of wind power and is experiencing speedy development in solar energy.
Stitt has mentioned he values renewable power for the roles it creates within the state. The governor in a social media submit final yr wrote, “Oklahoma is an oil and fuel state by and thru, however we additionally generate about 47% of our electrical energy from renewable sources. I simply don’t assume the federal government ought to decide winners and losers or drive us to decide on between one or the opposite.”
Main Photo voltaic Energy Deal
Regardless of the anti-renewable sentiment amongst some within the state, offers supporting cleaner power proceed. LRE lately purchased the Mayes County Photo voltaic Portfolio from Purple River Renewable Vitality, a three way partnership between SunChase Energy and Eolian. The electrical energy generated by the photo voltaic farms can be delivered underneath agency transmission service to the Grand River Dam Authority (GRDA), which is able to use the facility to help operations at Google’s information middle.
“By partnering with Grand River Dam Authority and LRE, Google is furthering its ambition to energy our amenities, together with these in Oklahoma, with carbon-free power across the clock by 2030,” mentioned Amanda Peterson Corio, International Head of Information Heart Vitality at Google. “These energy buy agreements reveal how our scalable procurement strategy is remodeling the acquisition of unpolluted power and accelerating the event of carbon-free power sources.”
“We started growth of those power tasks in 2017, deliberately co-locating photo voltaic websites adjoining to Google’s information middle load at Pryor to immediately inject clear electrical energy into the grid on the level of consumption,” mentioned Aaron Zubaty, CEO of Eolian. “The addition of greater than 700 MWac of recent photo voltaic sources at rigorously chosen places will allow extra environment friendly utilization of the regional transmission community and improve grid resilience whereas additionally immediately enabling buyer growth. In a time of rising electrical energy demand to energy our general financial system, these photo voltaic tasks present a really tangible and actual answer.”
Mayes County Portfolio
The Mayes County Photo voltaic Portfolio consists of three tasks: the 145-MW Salt Department Photo voltaic, the 125-MW Huckleberry Photo voltaic, and the 102-MW Mayes Photo voltaic. LRE mentioned the tasks will create greater than 300 jobs throughout building and contribute an estimated $76 million in tax income to Mayes County over their lifespan.
The PPAs had been facilitated by LEAP, or LevelTen Vitality’s Accelerated Course of, which was co-developed by Google and LevelTen Vitality to make sourcing and executing clear power PPAs extra environment friendly. The tasks will contribute to Google’s 2030 aim to run on 24/7 carbon-free power on each grid the place it operates.
“We’re seeing a dramatic enhance within the demand for dependable electrical energy all through the nation. Google’s help for these photo voltaic tasks in Oklahoma is a testomony to their dedication to assist meet the state’s rising power wants with safe, sustainable options,” mentioned John Wiscaver, government vp at GRDA. “Google is a beneficial associate to GRDA, and we sit up for serving to them meet their future energy wants whereas persevering with to foster financial development within the GRDA communities of Northeast Oklahoma.”
“SunChase is proud to see these Mayes County photo voltaic power tasks transferring ahead, bringing utility-scale solar energy to a fast-growing a part of the state the place it should help continued financial growth with clear power,” mentioned Teran Smith, vp of SunChase Energy.
—Darrell Proctor is a senior editor for POWER.
