Google invests in a Taiwanese solar developer backed by BlackRock to increase energy capacity during the AI boom.

• Google has announced that it will collaborate with BlackRock to create a 1 gigawatt pipeline of new solar energy capacity in Taiwan, in a bid to increase energy production and reduce carbon emissions as the demand for artificial intelligence grows.
• New Green Power will receive a capital investment from Google, pending regulatory approval, to expand its large-scale solar projects.
• A portion of the new solar capacity will be used to power Google's data centers and cloud region in Taiwan, as stated by the company.

The U.S. tech giant announced Monday that it will partner with BlackRock to develop a 1 gigawatt pipeline of new solar capacity in Taiwan, as it seeks to boost energy capacity and cut carbon emissions amid the artificial intelligence boom.

New Green Power will receive a capital investment from Google, pending regulatory approval, to expand its large-scale solar projects.

BlackRock's New Green Power received an undisclosed amount of investment from Google.

Google's net-zero emissions goal will be achieved through the investment in clean energy on Taiwan's local electricity grid, which will help the company reach this target by 2030.

Google's data centers and cloud region in Taiwan will be powered by new solar capacity, with some of the clean energy also being made available to Google's chip suppliers and manufacturers in the region, according to a press release.

Google aims to acquire up to 300 megawatts of solar energy through power purchase agreements (PPAs) and associated energy attribute certificates (Taiwan Renewable Energy Certificates or T-RECS) to meet electricity demand from its data center campus, cloud region, and office operations in Taiwan, as stated by Amanda Peterson Corio, global head of data center energy at Google, in a blog post on Monday.

Nearly 60% of the world's semiconductor chips are produced in Taiwan, and the country also accounts for a significant share of advanced AI processors, according to EY. Chip fabrication facilities are among the most energy-intensive facilities globally, as chip manufacturing is a long and intricate process.

According to data from the Energy Administration under Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs, about 97% of Taiwan's energy is generated from non-renewable sources, including coal and natural gas.

This calls for the need to boost renewable energy sources.

David Giordano, BlackRock's global head of climate infrastructure, stated that as demand for digital services driven by AI and data-centric technologies increases, it is crucial to invest in clean energy.

The Singapore government aims to increase green energy deployments to provide at least 300 megawatts of additional capacity for artificial intelligence demands, which strain energy resources.

The growth of renewable energy development in Asia-Pacific is robust, although it is starting from a low base, according to a Boston Consulting Group report on April 23. By 2030, renewable energy is expected to make up 30% to 50% of the energy mix in most of the region's markets, the report stated, emphasizing the need for significant investment.