GCP – Our clean energy progress in Japan

Today, we’re announcing two new solar power purchase agreements in Japan that bring us closer to our goal to run on 24/7 carbon-free energy on every grid where we operate by 2030. These Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with Itochu’s partner Clean Energy Connect and Shizen Energy are our first in the country, and together they will add a combined 60 megawatts (MW) of new solar energy capacity to the Japanese grid. This will not only support our data centers in the region, but also align with Japan’s clean energy ambitions.

We are expanding our clean energy portfolio in the Asia-Pacific region

Our PPA with Clean Energy Connect, a partner of Itochu Corporation, involves constructing a network of roughly 800 small-scale solar plants across multiple grid regions in Japan. This novel, distributed approach is a creative solution to the challenge of limited land availability for large-scale solar projects in the country. It will generate a significant 40 MW of clean energy to support our operations in Japan.

The PPA with Shizen Energy, a leading renewable energy company in Japan, focuses on the development of a 20 MW utility-scale solar project situated in the same power grid as our recently opened data center in Inzai City, Chiba prefecture.

Through these agreements, we will procure the renewable energy generated from these solar farms across Japan, along with the associated energy attribute certificates. This will significantly reduce our carbon footprint in the region. 

A collaborative effort for a sustainable future

These projects are expected to be fully operational within four years and underscore our commitment to invest nearly $690 million (nearly 100 billion yen) into sustainable infrastructure in Japan.

Signing these PPAs is just the beginning of our decarbonization journey in Japan. We aim to continue our efforts in the region by collaborating with local partners and exploring even more innovative solutions to accelerate the country’s clean energy transition. To learn more about Google data centers, visit google.com/datacenters. To learn more about our sustainability work, visit sustainability.google.