BlackRock's Climate Infrastructure business partners with Google to support the development of a 1 gigawatt (GW) pipeline of new solar capacity in Taiwan. The move aims to advance clean energy on Taiwan's electricity grid and Google's 24/7 carbon-free goal. The partnership entails Google making a capital investment in New Green Power (NGP), a Taiwanese solar developer and BlackRock portfolio company.
"We have a bold goal to reach net-zero emissions across all our operations and value chain by 2030, supported by a goal to run on 24/7 carbon-free energy on every grid where we operate. The path to reaching these goals is challenging and requires both commercial efforts and change in broader energy systems. This includes creating new clean energy opportunities in regions that are early in their decarbonisation journeys and have electricity grids that are undersupplied with carbon-free energy," said Amanda Peterson Corio, global head of Data Center Energy at Google.
Clean energy investment
Due to land constraints, low availability of commercially scalable wind and solar resources, and high construction costs, fossil fuels, imported coal, and natural gas generate nearly 85% of Taiwan's electricity.
BlackRock's Global head of Climate Infrastructure, David Giordano, said, "As we witness growth in demand for digital services powered by AI and data-centric technologies, it becomes imperative to invest in clean energy. The partnership is a testament to the shared commitment between Google and BlackRock to driving the transition to a low-carbon economy."