Google Signs PPAs for 3,000 MW of Hydro Power with Brookfield

Google has signed an agreement for up to 3,000 megawatts (MW) of hydroelectric power across the USA from Brookfield Asset Management and Brookfield Renewable.

The hydro framework agreement is the “first of its kind” and the “world’s largest corporate clean power deal for hydroelectricity,” Brookfield said in a statement.

The first contracts executed under the agreement are for Brookfield’s Holtwood and Safe Harbor hydroelectric facilities in Pennsylvania, representing more than $3 billion of power and 670 MW of capacity, the company said.

Under the agreement, Google can procure carbon-free electricity from up to 3,000 MW of hydroelectric assets that will be relicensed, overhauled, or upgraded to extend the asset’s useful life and continue adding power to the grid, according to the statement.

The first contracted assets consist of hydroelectric facilities in Pennsylvania that Brookfield is re-licensing. Brookfield and Google will initially focus on the mid-Atlantic (PJM) and mid-continent (MISO) electricity markets, with the flexibility to expand into other U.S. regions, the statement said.

The 20-year power purchase agreements (PPAs) for Brookfield’s Holtwood and Safe Harbor hydroelectric facilities in Pennsylvania will support Google’s operations across PJM. The transaction structure allows Brookfield to maintain existing commitments to power consumers such as Amtrak from the Safe Harbor facility, the company said.

Amanda Peterson Corio, Head of Data Center Energy at Google, said, “At Google, we’re dedicated to responsibly growing the digital infrastructure that powers daily life for people, communities and businesses. This collaboration with Brookfield is a significant step forward, ensuring clean energy supply in the PJM region where we operate. Hydropower is a proven, low-cost technology, offering dependable, homegrown, carbon-free electricity that creates jobs and builds a stronger grid for all”.

Brookfield Asset Management President Connor Teskey said, “Our partnership with Google demonstrates the critical role that hydropower can play in helping hyperscale customers meet their energy goals. Delivering power at scale and from a range of sources will be required to meet the growing electricity demands from digitalization and artificial intelligence”.

Google has signed contracts for alternative energy to power its data centers and operations in the past months.

In April, the tech giant entered into the first corporate PPAs for geothermal energy in Taiwan with geothermal developer Baseload Capital.

The initial projects will add 10 MW of power to the grid and help catalyze Taiwan’s geothermal market and build on Google’s recent partnership to support a 1 gigawatt (GW) pipeline of solar development in Taiwan, the company said in an earlier statement.

In October 2024, Google teamed up with Kairos Power to deploy a fleet of advanced nuclear power projects in the USA. The two companies signed a master plant development agreement aiming to establish nuclear power projects totaling 500 MW by 2035.

Under the agreement, Kairos Power will develop, construct, and operate a series of advanced reactor plants and sell energy, ancillary services, and environmental attributes to Google under PPAs. The plants will be sited in relevant service territories to supply clean electricity to Google data centers, with the first deployment by 2030 to support Google’s 24/7 carbon-free energy and net zero goals, according to an earlier news release.

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