GlobalFoundries has signed a multi-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Keppel to procure renewable energy for the chip manufacturer’s Singapore site.

Under the terms of the agreement, which is expected to commence in May 2024, Keppel will provide GlobalFoundries with between 150 and 180MW of energy.

Additionally, GlobalFoundries is expected to be a long-term buyer from Keppel’s new Keppel Sakra Cogen Plant (KSC), a 600MW combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant being developed by the company in Singapore in conjunction with Mitsubishi and Jurong Engineering.

KSC is scheduled to be completed in 2026 and by using electricity from the plant, GlobalFoundries anticipates it will reduce emissions from its Singapore site by 10 percent each year, approximately 70,000 tonnes of CO2.

"GlobalFoundries is expected to contract about 25 percent of KSC's total generation capacity for more than 15 years when the plant is operational," the companies said in a joint statement.

The deal also allows GlobalFoundries to request that a portion of the electricity supplied by Keppel be switched to renewable energies such as wind and solar once they become more readily available in Singapore.

“We are delighted to begin our partnership with Keppel,” said Tan Yew Kong, SVP and GM at GlobalFoundries’ Singapore site. “We are confident that this partnership will help us ensure stable energy availability and maintain our competitive advantage, as we continue to deliver on our commitments to meet the demand for GF-manufactured essential chips.”

GlobalFoundries first announced its zero carbon goals in August 2021. The company intends to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2030 while still growing its manufacturing capacity.

Methods that have already been put in place by the chip manufacturer at its Singapore facility include decarbonization solutions such as electricity-driven heat pumps.

“Environmental performance is built into our Singapore facility, and we take a long-term perspective to integrate resource-efficient systems and processes into our operations,” Yew Kong said. “As more options for renewable energy become available in the future, we are committed to adopting more solutions to further decarbonize electricity generation, as well as invest in the necessary infrastructure to execute on our global Journey to zero carbon strategy.”