Google Invests in BlackRock-Owned Solar Developer to Power Taiwan Data Centre

Google has unveiled an investment in New Green Power (NGP), a Taipei-based solar developer wholly owned by a BlackRock-managed fund, as part of a partnership with BlackRock’s Climate Infrastructure business that will help the US tech giant power its data centre campus in Taiwan and advance its goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2030.

The investment will serve as development capital for NGP’s 1 gigawatt (GW) pipeline of new solar projects, with Google obtaining the rights to procure up to 300 megawatts (MW) of capacity from that pipeline to help meet electricity demand from its $600 million data centre facility in the Taiwanese county of Changhua, as well as cloud region and office operations on the island, according to an announcement on Monday from Amanda Peterson Corio, Google’s global head of data centre energy.

“As we witness growth in demand for digital services, powered by AI and data-centric technologies, it becomes imperative to invest in the infrastructure that not only supports this growth but also aligns with our strategy to invest in clean energy,” said David Giordano, BlackRock’s global head of climate infrastructure. “This partnership is a testament to our shared commitment to driving the transition to a low-carbon economy.”

BlackRock declined to disclose the financial terms of the transaction, while Google had not responded to Mingtiandi inquiries by the time of publication.

Financing a Green Taiwan

The investment, which is subject to regulatory approval, will also give Google the option to offer a portion of that capacity to its semiconductor suppliers and manufacturers in the region, in an effort to reduce its so-called Scope 3 emissions – the indirect emissions from its value chain counterparties.

Google expects to procure the 300 MW of solar energy through power purchase agreements and associated energy attribute certificates (also known as Taiwan Renewable Energy Certificates, or T-RECs).

“We’re aiming to reach net-zero emissions across our operations and value chain, supported by a goal to run on 24/7 carbon-free energy everywhere we operate,” said Corio. “The path to reach these goals is challenging and requires both commercial efforts and broader energy systems change. We’re excited to partner with BlackRock and New Green Power to advance the build-out of clean energy on Taiwan’s electricity grid.”

Google said the investment will catalyse critical equity and debt financing for NGP’s pipeline of projects, with BlackRock expecting the 1 GW capacity to be developed in the “coming years”.

“This is a pivotal moment for energy infrastructure in Taiwan,” Ross Mackey, portfolio manager of climate infrastructure at BlackRock said in a separate release. “BlackRock’s Climate Infrastructure business is a leading investor in Taiwan’s solar industry and we are delighted to partner with Google to provide a scalable and sustainable energy solution for their operations in Taiwan.”

Betting on Climate Infrastructure

Established in 2009, NGP finances, constructs, owns and operates solar projects across Taiwan and Japan, with over 500 MW of completed capacity since inception. A fund managed by BlackRock’s Climate Infrastructure business acquired full ownership of the company in 2022 following its purchase of a majority stake in 2020.

BlackRock’s Infrastructure Equity platform managed over $39 billion of global assets across its climate and diversified infrastructure franchises as of March, with its global renewable energy strategy overseeing over $5 billion of assets, including solar projects across Asia Pacific totaling 320 MW of capacity in Japan, 241 MW in Australia, and 70 MW in Taiwan.

Taiwan is targeting 20 GW of solar capacity by 2025 and up to 80 GW by 2050 to achieve net zero goals, according to BlackRock, citing Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs. Fossil fuels, including imported coal and natural gas, currently generate around 85 percent of Taiwan’s electricity, according to Google.

Many countries in Asia Pacific face challenges with adding new carbon-free energy sources, including land constraints, low availability of commercially scalable wind and solar resources, and high construction costs, said Corio.

Tech Giants Pile Into Asia

Google’s Changhua data centre campus was launched in 2013 with a total investment of $600 million as part of the company’s inaugural pair of data centres in Asia Pacific, which also included the launch of a $120 million facility in Singapore that same year.

In 2019, Google revealed plans for a second Taiwan facility in Tainan after having secured land and regulatory approvals, but had yet to break ground on that project as of March. The company is also reportedly eyeing a third facility in Yunlin county.

Earlier this month, Google completed its fourth facility in Singapore, bringing its total data centre investment in the Lion City to $5 billion to date. That milestone came days after the company announced plans to invest $2 billion in neighbouring Malaysia to develop its first data centre and cloud region in the country, as well as a cloud offering and data centre in Thailand.

Google’s moves come amid a flurry of investment in cloud and AI infrastructure initiatives, including data centres, in the region by US and Chinese tech giants.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced cloud and AI infrastructure investments worth $2.2 billion in Malaysia and $1.7 billion in Indonesia during visits to those countries in recent months, with the company also planning to invest $2.9 billion in data centres in Japan.

Last month, Malaysia’s minister of investment, trade and industry revealed plans by TikTok developer ByteDance to expand its data centre facilities in the country with an additional investment of $320 million. That followed US semiconductor titan Nvidia’s partnership with Kuala Lumpur-based YTL Power International to build a data centre in Malaysia’s Johor state.

US e-commerce giant Amazon has announced plans to make cloud infrastructure investments amounting to $9 billion in Singapore, $6 billion in Malaysia, and $5 billion in Thailand through its Amazon Web Services cloud unit, while its Chinese counterpart Alibaba Cloud is eyeing a data centre buildout in Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and South Korea.

Asia Pacific currently has 10.6 GW of operational capacity, with a development pipeline of an additional 13.3 GW expected to be realised in the coming five to seven years, according to a June report by Cushman & Wakefield.