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Insight

GOOGLE BUYS GREEN SOLAR ENERGY TO POWER ITS DATA CENTRE IN DENMARK 

Insight

GOOGLE BUYS GREEN SOLAR ENERGY TO POWER ITS DATA CENTRE IN DENMARK 

Google and Better Energy has announced the completion of a new zero-subsidy solar park in Næstved, Denmark. Better Energy and Google share a vision and desire to make the grid greener to take on sustainable leadership in the green transition. 

When

Companies have a key role in the next phase of the green transition, which is the market driven green transition. It is one thing to pledge support for corporate and environmental responsibility, and it is another thing to take control of one’s energy consumption. By buying new green energy that matches companies’ consumption, the companies take control and become a leading force in the green transition. 

"Our purpose is to advance the deployment of renewable energy as rapidly as possible and at the lowest cost possible. Today, large-scale solar parks are the most commercially scalable renewable energy potential available in Denmark. Companies are the key when it comes to fully realising this potential. They really make a difference when they buy new green energy from our solar parks. Google’s commitment to contribute positively to the deployment of new renewable energy capacity in Denmark by buying new green energy from our solar parks is an act of sustainable leadership that is a prerequisite for the green transition"

Rasmus Lildholdt Kjær

CEO, Better Energy 

An essential part of the agreement, between Better Energy and Google, was that Google buys new green energy that has the effect of new renewable energy capacity getting built and added to the same power market where Google's upcoming data centre in Fredericia is located.

“Google is the world’s biggest corporate buyer of renewable energy with all the company’s energy consumption matched with renewables. Google has been carbon neutral since 2007, but is only just getting started. Denmark has really reached a milestone, as it is now possible to construct solar parks unsubsidised. It speaks volumes about how far we are as a country in reducing carbon emissions, which is something to be proud of as a Dane. In Google, we feel a great deal of responsibility building sustainability into everything we do, and solar parks like Better Energy’s in Næstved ensure that we can stay carbon neutral. It’s immensely important.”

Malou Aamund 

CEO, Google Denmark

Google was one of the first major companies to reach carbon neutrality and have become the world’s largest corporate buyer of renewable energy – and Google does not stop there. The company now aims to be the first major company to achieve 24/7 carbon-free energy by 2030 to push further to confront the magnitude of today’s climate challenge. To get there, Google are pursuing new carbon-free energy generation and storage technologies.

In Denmark, companies can obtain the right business conditions to be a part of the green transition such as easy access to government, utilities, a transparent CleanTech eco-system and policymakers to deploy those technologies and thereby drive system-level change.

On top of this, the Danish government has agreed upon an historic climate action plan to reduce CO2 emission. One of the central elements of the agreement is the establishment of the world’s first two energy islands, one artificial and one centred on the island of Bornholm, which together have the capacity to generate 5GW of power by 2030. The new deal also includes a plan to establish technology neutral funding mechanisms for carbon capture and Power-to-X technologies, which can turn power from the islands into green fuel.

Næstved Solar Park

  • The park is a result of the long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) from last year in which Better Energy began the construction of three new solar parks in Denmark for a total capacity of 100 MWp.

  • The new subsidy-free Næstved solar park has a capacity of 51 MWp, corresponding to the energy consumption of approximately 32,500 Danes.

  • When companies add the same amount of energy to the market where they consume it, it is called true additionality.

  • The solar park is built without subsidies but the solar park will also be a solar park with sprawling nature. In Better Energy, consideration for climate, nature and people is integral to all solutions.

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