Google has signed new Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) to procure wind energy in Belgium and the Netherlands.

In Belgium, the company said it will acquire 23.8MW of energy from Luminus in a 12-year deal, provided by four new onshore wind projects.

“Our current projections indicate that this PPA will help us keep our Belgium data centers and offices at or near 80 percent carbon-free energy in 2024 when measured on an hourly local basis, as demand for our services continues to grow,” the company said.

In its own announcement, EDF-owned Luminous said three of the four projects are co-owned by different partners and are co-developed with them through Luminus' subsidiaries: e-NosVents (together with IDETA) and Demainvest (together with Wallonie Entreprendre). The wind farms are set to launch in 2024.

Grégoire Dallemagne, CEO of Luminus, said: “Climate neutrality can only be achieved through joint efforts. Luminus teams are committed to building a carbon-neutral energy future, including by offering companies low-carbon electricity and energy-efficient solutions. This agreement with Google is another step towards our shared environmental goals. We are happy to be able to guide Google on this and thank the company for its trust.”

Thierry Geerts, national director of Google in Belgium, added: “Sustainable development has been one of Google's core values ​​since the company was founded. For more than a decade, we have been pioneering and building a carbon-free future. Achieving our goal of running 24/7 globally on 24/7 carbon-free energy by 2030 will require collaborations and partnerships with leading energy industry actors, such as Luminus, who are collectively committed to long-term sustainable energy practices.”

In the Netherlands, Google has signed a 10-year deal with Eneco to procure 153MW from a number of new near-shore wind farms; Windpark Fryslân will receive 288 GWh per year with a capacity of 73.5MW. Windpark Kroningswind generates 227GWh annually with a capacity of 79.8MW.

The search and ads company said the agreement would increase the carbon-free energy percentage of its data center and office operations in the country by 20 percent in 2024, on an hourly local basis.

Martijn Bertisen, Google VP Netherlands, said: “Our ambition to run completely on carbon-free energy by 2030, wherever and whenever in the world, will require intensive cooperation with major energy companies such as Eneco, who are jointly committed to long-term sustainable energy goals.” 

Kees-Jan Rameau, COO integrated energy at Eneco, added: “Google is committed to offering all its services energy-neutral. This is a valuable goal that Eneco is happy to contribute to by supplying sustainable energy, together with the wind farms Fryslân and Kroningswind. We are accelerating the energy transition with large impactful companies such as Google, which actively contribute to making energy systems more sustainable.”

Google aims to achieve net zero emissions across its operations, including its data centers and offices, by 2030. Since 2010, Google said it has signed more than 35 wind and solar agreements in Europe to purchase nearly 3GW of renewable power.

2023 has seen Google sign PPAs with Ørsted in Texas and Sol Systems for projects in North & South Carolina. In 2022 the company signed European PPAs with ib vogt in Spain, Engie in the UK and Germany, and Ørsted in Germany.

Dutch firm Eneco has previously signed PPAs with Google, Microsoft, and Amazon Web Services for wind farms in the Netherlands.