Engie, Google Forge Partnership for Scottish Wind Farm

French firm Engie , which delves into renewable, thermal energy and also provides energy solutions has joined hands with Google by way of a 100 MW corporate PPA. The agreement will pave the way for the French firm to supply the American multination tech giant with over 5TWh green power from Moray West offshore wind development. The pact has been inked for period of 12-year period.

The ambitious offshore wind project

The Moray West project, in the Moray Firth, off the coast of Scotland, is an offshore wind farm that boasts of a capacity of almost 900 MW. The farm will initiate operations starting 2025.

The said project is part of the portfolio of Ocean Winds, a Spain-based firm that looks into offshore wind energy projects. The firm is the result of 2019 joint venture between leading RE Spanish firm EDPR Renewables and ENGIE. The deal between Engie, Google and Ocea Winds is said to accelerate the UK’s goals with regards to energy transition.

“People across the UK and Europe are increasingly worried about climate change and energy security. We share that concern and believe technology is an important part of the solution – both by reducing our own emissions, and by helping others to reduce their own,” shared Matt BRITTIN, President of Google EMEA. He further added, “This new investment in UK renewable energy brings us one step closer to reaching our goal of operating entirely on carbon-free energy by 2030, and means that, in the UK, we’ll be running on at or near 90% carbon-free energy in 2025.”

Bautista Rodriguez, Ocean Winds’ Chief Executive Officer, offered views on the partnership, “This PPA represents the realization of offshore wind as a powerful source of energy capable of meeting the high energy demands and carbon neutrality targets of countries and clients. Ocean Winds is proud to accompany Google in this journey and work hand in hand with ENGIE for this successful commercial outcome. Currently developing, building, or operating more than 6 GW of offshore wind projects in the UK, Ocean Winds participates actively in the necessary transition to clean energy.”

“We are very pleased to support Google in its progress towards its carbon-free target. As a major player in PPAs, Engie designs innovative green corporate PPAs for off-takers from offshore wind, thanks to the strong development of Ocean Winds, as we do for our onshore renewable projects. This contract demonstrates the strength of the Group’s renewable portfolio, with 37 GW of renewable assets, a major advantage for our customers in their decarbonization strategy,” explicated Paulo Almirante, Engie Senior EVP who looks after Renewables, Energy Management and Nuclear Activities.

Other partnerships between Google & Engie

This is not the first time that Google and Engie have inked a corporate PPA. Among several corporate PPAs that have been signed between the two, one entails a first 24/7 carbon free Energy contract in Europe. Another contract has been signed with a view to come up with a solution which employs artificial intelligence for the optimisation of wind energy management.