Google kicks off $20B renewable energy building spree to power AI

Nuclear power has gotten a lot of attention from tech companies recently, with Google being one of the key players. However, it seems that even with new reactors, these won’t be enough to support their growing AI needs. Google is now teaming up with partners to develop large-scale renewable energy, battery storage, and grid upgrades to power its data centers.

On Tuesday, Google announced a deal with renewable developer Intersect Power and investment fund TPG Rise Climate to generate enough carbon-free energy to run several gigawatt-scale data centers. The project is expected to cost around $20 billion, and Intersect is already financing the first phase, the company told TechCrunch.

The deal also includes an $800 million equity investment in Intersect Power, with TPG leading the round, and CAI, Google, and Greenbelt Capital Partners participating.

As tech companies like Google ramp up their AI capabilities, experts warn that new AI data centers might not have enough power by 2027. To address this, companies are turning to new energy sources.

For this new project, each gigawatt-scale data center will be paired with an equal amount of renewable energy—wind, solar, and battery storage—enough to keep it running for two to four hours, according to Bloomberg. The data center and renewable power park will be connected to the same point on the grid, and Google plans to cover any costs needed to upgrade the grid infrastructure.

The hope is that this setup will speed up the connection between data centers and renewable power parks. Currently, there are nearly 12,000 active requests in the U.S. from power producers trying to connect to the grid, according to Interconnection.fyi. This adds up to 2.05 terawatts of waiting capacity—almost double the current installed and connected capacity, with most requests coming from solar and battery projects.

Google and Intersect Power are taking a phased approach to their renewable energy project, with the first phase set to be operational by 2026 and the entire project completed by 2027. This timeline underscores how quickly renewable power can be deployed compared to other energy sources.

This rapid pace is likely to put pressure on nuclear power startups and developers, all of which have longer timelines. For example, the fastest nuclear project—Microsoft's restart of a reactor at Three Mile Island—is not expected to come online until 2028. Google's deal with Kairos, a small modular reactor startup, has a 2030 deadline for the first of several planned power plants, while Amazon's contract with X-Energy, another SMR startup, is targeting the early 2030s.

However, all of these nuclear projects are contingent on staying on track and being completed on time—an outcome that has been elusive for the nuclear power industry so far.