Expected to last 20 years
Google has signed a virtual Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Japanese power generation company Jera to supply non-fossil fuel certificates to a Google data center in Inzai, Chiba Prefecture, Japan.
The PPA will see Jera Cross, the Japanese company's decarbonization arm, supply the environmental value generated from a 15MW solar power project to the Google data center.
The solar energy will be derived from a project being developed by Japanese firm West Holdings Corporation. West Holdings will supply the power to Jera Cross, which will in turn supply the electricity into the Japanese electric power exchange market, with the environmental attributes tied to the renewable energy provided to Google as part of the virtual PPA.
The PPA is expected to come into force by March 2027, with Nikkei reporting that it will last for 20 years. Further details on the PPA were not disclosed. DCD has contacted the relevant parties for further information.
West Holdings is a long-term partner of Jera. In 2022, it signed a partnership with the company to develop 1GW of solar power through the end of fiscal year 2025 at new and former Jera power plant sites. As part of the agreement, Jera acquired a 2.3 percent stake in West Holdings.
Jera Cross, which was launched last year, provides corporate decarbonization solutions, including advanced hourly matching technology that makes possible the supply of 24/7 carbon-free energy.
The Inzai data center is Google’s first in Japan. The project was announced back in 2022 as part of a broader $730 million investment by Google into the Japanese market. The data center was formally launched in 2023. Google also operates cloud regions in Tokyo and Osaka, opened in 2016 and 2019, respectively.
Last year, Google signed its first PPAs in the Japanese market, inking two solar deals totaling 60MW with Clean Energy Connect and Shizen Energy.
Amazon has also signed PPAs in Japan this year. In January, the company signed two PPAs with EDP Renewables APAC and X-Elio.
Source: DCD
