Meta has strengthened its clean energy strategy by expanding its partnership with Zelestra, a global renewable energy developer. The move supports Meta’s goal to power its operations with 100% clean electricity and add new generation capacity to the grid.

At the same time, it highlights how hyperscalers are reshaping the U.S. renewable energy market as data center power demand rises sharply.

Phil North, Zelestra’s US CEO, said:

“Our clean energy collaboration with Meta is gathering momentum across the US. We are delighted to welcome full operations at Jasper County and the start of construction at two further major projects, at the same time as closing another major agreement that will enable the construction of Skull Creek in Texas. Thanks to our forward-looking partnership, nearly 1.2 GWdc of new clean solar power will soon be operational in the US.”

Meta Backs New Solar Capacity in Texas

Meta and Zelestra recently signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) for the 176 MWdc Skull Creek Solar Plant in Texas. This project adds to Meta’s growing portfolio of contracted renewable energy and helps the company match its electricity use with clean power.

In total, they now have PPAs for about 1.2 GWdc of solar capacity across seven U.S. projects, all expected to be operational by 2028. Two of these projects began construction in late 2025, while the remaining projects are scheduled to start construction in 2026.

These agreements reflect Meta’s commitment to additionality—supporting projects that would not otherwise be built. By acting as a long-term offtaker, Meta reduces investment risk for developers and accelerates new renewable generation.

Four New Solar Projects Under Environmental Attribute Agreements

In a related announcement, Zelestra revealed that four new solar projects will be developed under Environmental Attribute Purchase Agreements (EAPAs). These projects will deliver electricity into the ERCOT grid in Texas, supporting Meta’s data center operations.

The projects are located in Hopkins, Lamar, Lampasas, and Henderson counties and will add 720 MWdc of solar capacity. Combined with earlier agreements, Meta and Zelestra have closed six EAPAs totaling 800 MWac, including two Indiana solar plants contracted in 2024. Overall, the signed agreements will enable Zelestra to build more than 1 GWdc of solar projects in the United States.

Zelestra is expanding rapidly in the U.S., with 6.6 GWdc of projects under development and a broader global pipeline of around 15 GW. The company is backed by EQT and ranked among the top corporate clean energy sellers by BloombergNEF.

Data Centers Drive Massive Power Demand Growth

The partnership comes as global data center electricity demand rises at an unprecedented pace. Over the next five years, data center power demand could approach 219 GW of new capacity, equivalent to powering around 180 million U.S. homes.

DOE reported that in the United States, data centers could account for 12% of national electricity consumption by 2030. In clean-policy scenarios, renewables such as solar and wind could supply 60–90% of data center power by 2035.

This surge in demand explains why hyperscalers like Meta, Google, and Microsoft are aggressively securing renewable energy through long-term contracts. These deals help stabilize energy costs and support decarbonization goals.

Solar Growth Continues Despite Market Volatility

According to S&P Global Market Intelligence, the U.S. added 2.25 GW of solar capacity in Q3, up 1.5% from Q2 and 15.8% year over year. Solar projects benefit from relatively short development timelines of 18 to 24 months, making them the fastest route to expand utility-scale power generation.

However, solar additions declined sequentially. Q3 capacity additions were 50.7% lower than Q2, and Q2 additions were 21% lower than Q1. Only nine states added solar capacity in Q3, compared with 22 states in Q2 and 29 in Q1.

Texas remains the dominant solar market, with 32.7 GW of installed solar capacity, representing 21.7% of total U.S. solar capacity. The state also led additions in Q3, contributing 965 MW, or 43% of new solar capacity during the quarter.

Despite looming tax credit phase-outs after 2027, falling solar costs have made solar power competitive with other generation sources. However, capture prices in California declined slightly, reflecting increasing supply and market saturation.

Meta’s Emissions Strategy and Clean Energy Procurement

Meta has prioritized renewable energy procurement as a core pillar of its climate strategy. In 2024, Meta reported 8.2 million metric tonnes (MT) of CO₂e emissions after contractual instruments, compared with 15.6 million MT CO₂e on a location-based basis. This represents a 48% reduction due to clean energy purchasing decisions.

• Since 2020, Meta has matched 100% of its annual electricity use with clean and renewable energy.
• Over the last decade, the company has contracted more than 15 GW of clean energy worldwide, making it one of the largest corporate buyers globally.

As a result, Meta reduced operational emissions by 6 million MT CO₂e in 2024. The company also uses Energy Attribute Certificates (EACs) to cut Scope 3 emissions linked to fuel use, consumer hardware, and remote work. This approach reduced value chain emissions by 1.4 million MT CO₂e in 2024.

Overall, renewable energy procurement helped Meta cut 23.8 million MT CO₂e emissions since 2021.

Power Purchase Agreements as a Decarbonization Tool

Meta relies heavily on long-term PPAs to bring new renewable projects online. These agreements provide guaranteed revenue for developers and ensure new projects are built.

The company has supported several major renewable projects worldwide, including a 150 MW floating solar project in Singapore, 190 MW of solar capacity in Ireland, and a 190 MW solar facility paired with a 50 MW battery storage system in New Mexico.

Coming back to the expanded partnership between Meta and Zelestra, it reflects a broader shift in the energy market. Corporate demand is now a key driver of renewable energy development, especially in regions with growing data center clusters.

Texas, with its strong solar resources and competitive power market, has become a focal point for hyperscalers. At the same time, developers like Zelestra are scaling rapidly to meet corporate demand with multi-technology renewable portfolios.

As data center power demand continues to surge, long-term PPAs and attribute agreements will play a crucial role in financing new projects and stabilizing power grids. For Meta, the partnership strengthens its path toward net-zero operations while supporting large-scale renewable expansion across the United States.

• ALSO READ: Meta and NextEra Partner for a Big Solar and Storage Energy Deal

The post Meta and Zelestra Expand Solar Partnership as Data Center Power Demand Surges appeared first on Carbon Credits.

Alphabet’s latest quarterly results tell a powerful story. Google is accelerating its artificial intelligence push at historic speed, but that momentum is colliding with the hard physics of energy, emissions, and infrastructure limits. The company is scaling AI faster than any previous technology cycle—yet keeping emissions in check is becoming more complex and uncertain.

This tension between explosive AI growth and ambitious climate goals defines Google’s next decade.

Alphabet’s Blockbuster Quarter Signals a New AI Era

Alphabet closed 2025 with one of its strongest quarters ever. Revenue surged nearly 18% year over year to $113.8 billion, beating analyst expectations. Earnings per share also exceeded forecasts, and net income jumped almost 30%.

Advertising remained the company’s largest revenue driver, while Google Cloud continued its breakout growth. However, YouTube advertising slightly missed expectations, partly due to weaker comparisons against election-driven ad spending in 2024.

The biggest headline, though, came from Alphabet’s spending plans. The company expects $175–$185 billion in capital expenditures in 2026, more than double its recent annual spend. Most of that money will go toward AI infrastructure, cloud capacity, and strategic investments.

This marks one of the largest corporate infrastructure spending waves in tech history.

Gemini and AI Are Reshaping Google’s Core Business

Google’s AI ecosystem is expanding rapidly across products, platforms, and enterprise services.

Gemini now has over 750 million monthly active users, reflecting massive adoption across search, productivity tools, and developer platforms. Google claims it reduced Gemini’s serving costs by 78% in 2025 through optimization and better infrastructure utilization—highlighting how scale economics are starting to kick in.

Search, YouTube, and Cloud are Increasingly AI-driven:

Google’s main businesses performed strongly.

• Search revenue reached around $63 billion, beating analyst expectations.
• YouTube ads earned $11.38 billion, up from $10.47 billion a year earlier.
• Google Cloud stood out with $17.66 billion, growing nearly 48%.
• Subscriptions, platforms, and devices added another $13.58 billion.

AI is driving much of this growth. Search usage hit record levels as new conversational AI features let people ask longer, more interactive questions. Enterprise adoption of AI is also rising fast. Millions of Gemini Enterprise seats were sold in just a few months, showing strong demand for AI tools across industries.

Waymo Expands Autonomous Ride Services

The earnings report also mentioned that Waymo raised its largest investment to date and continues strong growth, providing over 400,000 rides weekly with safety as a priority.

In December, it surpassed 20 million fully autonomous trips and recently launched service in Miami, with plans to expand across the US, UK, and Japan, including airports and freeways.

• ALSO READ: Alphabet (Google) Surpasses Apple in Value: But How About Their Climate Ambitions and Progress?

Full-Year Context

Annual revenue topped $400 billion for the first time, driven by AI momentum like Gemini processing over 10 billion tokens per minute. Operating income was $35.93 billion for the quarter, with net income at $34.46 billion

The broader strategy is clear: AI is becoming the growth engine across Google’s entire stack, from consumer products to enterprise platforms.

GOOGL Stock Reacts to AI Spending Plans

Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) shares fell slightly to $331.25, down 0.54% on high trading volume of 87 million shares. The stock moved after Alphabet’s earnings were out. It’s up 18% year over year.

Investors are watching the company’s $175–185 billion AI spending plan for 2026, which is driving short-term volatility. Analysts remain positive, with a price target of $344 and a “Strong Buy” rating.

The Hidden Cost: Exploding Energy Demand

Behind this AI expansion lies a massive infrastructure footprint. Training and running large AI models require enormous computing power, and that translates directly into electricity consumption.

Google openly acknowledges that AI is driving non-linear growth in energy demand. Unlike traditional digital services, AI workloads scale unpredictably, especially with the rise of multimodal models, agentic systems, and real-time inference.

This uncertainty makes forecasting emissions trajectories far more difficult. Even with efficiency gains, absolute electricity demand is rising sharply.

Let’s take a closer look at Google’s sustainability progress and see the full picture behind its climate efforts.

Google’s Sustainability Moonshot Under Pressure

Google’s climate ambition is among the most aggressive in corporate history. The company aims to cut combined Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions by 50% by 2030 compared with 2019 levels. Its long-term goal remains net zero across operations and value chains.

There has been real progress:

• Scope 1 emissions declined 8% in 2024.
• Scope 2 emissions dropped 11% through clean energy procurement.
• Data center energy emissions fell 12% due to new carbon-free power projects.

These gains are notable because Google’s electricity consumption grew 27% in a single year. Decoupling growth from emissions is one of the hardest challenges in corporate decarbonization, and Google has partially achieved it.

But the bigger problem sits outside operational emissions.

Scope 3 Emissions: The Biggest Hurdle

Google’s total ambition-based emissions reached 11.5 million tCO₂e in 2024, up 11% year over year and 51% above its 2019 baseline. The main driver is supply chain emissions—Scope 3—which rose 22% year over year.

These emissions come from hardware manufacturing, construction materials, logistics, and third-party services. As Google builds more data centers and buys more AI hardware, supply chain emissions rise almost automatically.

This creates a paradox: AI expansion increases Scope 3 emissions faster than operational decarbonization can offset them.

• SEE MORE: Google Joins ReNew Energy for 150 MW Solar Project in India to Cut Scope 3 Emissions 

Data Center Construction: A Growing Carbon Challenge

One of the fastest-growing emission sources is data center construction. Embodied carbon from steel, concrete, and heavy machinery is becoming a significant part of Google’s footprint.

In 2024, data center construction emissions reached 1.6 million tCO₂e, accounting for 19% of Google’s ambition-based Scope 3 emissions. That figure is expected to rise as AI-driven data center expansion accelerates.

Google is responding with several strategies:

• Standardized data center designs to reduce material use
• Low-carbon concrete and steel to cut embodied emissions by up to 40%
• Electrified construction equipment powered by clean electricity
• Improved space efficiency to maximize infrastructure utilization

These measures can reduce carbon intensity, but they cannot fully offset the scale of new construction.

Policy and Regional Constraints Add Complexity

The company also highlights that policy uncertainty is a major risk. Changes in climate and energy regulations can affect project timelines, costs, and investment decisions.

Regional constraints are equally critical. Many Asia-Pacific markets—key growth regions for Google—lack sufficient carbon-free electricity. Land scarcity, weak renewable resources, and high construction costs make clean energy deployment difficult.

This means AI-driven growth in Asia could significantly increase emissions unless grid decarbonization accelerates.

Google’s Dilemma: AI vs Net-Zero Equation

Alphabet is not an outlier. Every major AI company is facing the same trade-off. AI is becoming core infrastructure for the global economy, but its energy footprint is massive and rising.

Thus, the real question is whether corporate decarbonization can keep pace with AI-driven growth. Three structural tensions stand out:

1. Infrastructure Scale vs Emissions Targets: AI requires massive data center buildouts, which drive Scope 3 emissions.
2. Energy Demand vs Clean Power Supply: Electricity consumption is growing faster than carbon-free power deployment.
3. Corporate Action vs Systemic Constraints: Many challenges, like grid capacity, policy frameworks, and supply chains, are beyond Google’s direct control.

Google’s disclosures offer a rare, transparent look into the carbon cost of the AI revolution. They highlight a broader reality: decarbonizing digital infrastructure is far harder than decarbonizing traditional IT services.

Can it Still Hit Its 2030 Climate Target?

As said before, the tech giant remains committed to cutting emissions by 50% by 2030, and the Science Based Targets initiative has validated its targets. But the path is increasingly narrow.

Operational emissions are trending downward, which is encouraging. The challenge is Scope 3 emissions tied to hardware, construction, and suppliers. Without systemic supply chain decarbonization, absolute emissions could continue rising—even if Google becomes more efficient per unit of compute.

However, its net-zero ambition is still alive, but it now depends as much on global energy systems, policy frameworks, and supply chains as on its own technology and investments.

Aggressive Investment in Carbon-Free Energy

It is investing heavily in clean energy, low-carbon materials, and carbon removal while simultaneously scaling AI faster than any previous technology wave.

Some steps include signing pioneering corporate deals for advanced geothermal and small modular nuclear reactors. The company is also using AI to speed up grid interconnections and optimize power purchasing.

In 2024, Google achieved in nine of its 20 data center grid regions. That’s a significant milestone, but it still falls short of its 24/7 carbon-free energy ambition.

Boosting Carbon Removals 

Google is also expanding its carbon removal portfolio. In 2024, it signed 16 new offtake agreements worth over $100 million, bringing its total removal portfolio to around 782,400 tCO₂e.

That is a 14-fold increase from 2023, but it is still tiny compared to millions of tonnes of annual emissions. Carbon removal is a long-term tool, not a near-term solution.

All in all, Alphabet’s Q4 results show a company entering a new phase of AI-driven growth. The planned $185 billion annual infrastructure spend underscores how central AI is to Google’s future.

But the sustainability story is becoming more complex. The next decade will test whether AI can scale sustainably—or whether the world’s most advanced tech companies will struggle to keep their climate promises in the age of artificial intelligence.

• FURTHER READING:
• Google Powers U.S. Data Centers with 1.2 GW of Carbon-Free Energy from Clearway
• Tech Giants Like NVIDIA and Google Eye Space to Power AI with Orbital Data Centers

The post Alphabet’s Blockbuster Q4 2025 Signals a New AI Era—But Will It Cloud Its Net-Zero Promise? appeared first on Carbon Credits.

Google has signed a long-term offshore wind power deal in Germany as it expands artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure across Europe. The agreement is a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with German utility EnBW. It covers 100 megawatts (MW) of electricity from the He Dreiht offshore wind farm in the North Sea.

The deal links Google’s growing electricity demand directly to new renewable generation. It also reflects a wider shift among large technology firms toward long-term clean power contracts tied to specific projects.

Adam Elman, Director of Sustainability EMEA at Google, remarked:

“Meeting the demand for AI infrastructure requires direct investment in the energy systems that make this technology possible. By contracting for new wind power from EnBW, we are bringing more clean energy online in Germany to power our operations, while accelerating the broader transition to a more sustainable electricity grid.”

AI Is Turning Electricity Into a Strategic Asset

According to EnBW, the He Dreiht wind farm will have a total capacity of 960 MW. It will use 64 offshore wind turbines and is expected to connect to the grid by spring 2026. The site is located around 90 kilometers northwest of Borkum and 110 kilometers west of Helgoland.

For Google, the agreement supports its goal of operating on 24/7 carbon-free energy by 2030. This means matching electricity use with carbon-free power every hour of the day, not just on an annual basis.

Google’s power demand is rising quickly. The main driver is artificial intelligence. AI systems need large amounts of computing power, which in turn requires large amounts of electricity.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that data centers used about 415 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity in 2024. That equals around 1.5% of global electricity demand. The IEA also notes that data center demand has grown at a double-digit annual rate in recent years. The same trend is forecasted by an industry report, as shown below.

Germany plays a key role in Google’s European expansion. In late 2025, Google announced plans to invest €5.5 billion in the country between 2026 and 2029. The investment includes a new data center in Dietzenbach, near Frankfurt, and continued development of its Hanau data center campus, which opened in 2023.

Data centers need reliable power around the clock. They also face rising pressure from governments, investors, and customers to reduce emissions. Long-term renewable PPAs help companies manage both issues.

• MUST READ: Environmental Groups Urge U.S. Congress to Pause Data Center Growth as Federal AI Rule Looms

By signing a 15-year contract, Google gains price certainty and supply stability. At the same time, the contract helps EnBW finance a large offshore wind project that adds new clean electricity to Germany’s grid.

A Flagship Wind Farm in the North Sea

Germany already has one of Europe’s largest offshore wind fleets. By the end of 2024, the country had 31 offshore wind farms fully in operation. Installed offshore wind capacity reached about 9.2 gigawatts (GW) in total. Around 7.4 GW sits in the North Sea, while about 1.8 GW is in the Baltic Sea.

He Dreiht is one of the largest offshore wind projects currently under construction in Germany. With 960 MW of capacity, it will add a meaningful share to the national total once it comes online.

The project also reflects a broader trend toward larger offshore turbines. According to industry data, offshore turbines commissioned in Germany in 2024 had an average capacity of 10.2 MW. The first 11 MW turbine entered operation that year, and 15 MW turbines are expected to appear in German waters starting in 2025.

Larger turbines can generate more electricity with fewer units. This can reduce seabed disturbance and installation time. However, it also requires stronger foundations, larger vessels, and more robust grid connections.

For EnBW, He Dreiht is a flagship project. The utility has already signed multiple PPAs for the wind farm with corporate buyers. This shows how offshore wind developers are increasingly relying on long-term corporate demand alongside traditional utility customers.

Why Corporates Are Becoming Power Buyers

Power purchase agreements play a growing role in clean energy finance. A PPA is a contract where a buyer agrees to purchase electricity from a specific project at agreed terms over many years.

For developers, PPAs reduce financial risk. They help secure loans and attract investors by offering predictable revenue. For buyers, PPAs provide access to clean power without owning generation assets.

This model is becoming more common as electricity demand rises and clean energy targets tighten. The IEA reports that global energy investment exceeded $3 trillion in 2024 for the first time. Around $2 trillion of that went into clean energy technologies and infrastructure, including renewables, grids, and storage.

Europe is a key market in this shift. Offshore wind plays a major role because it can produce large volumes of electricity close to industrial and urban centers. Germany plans to keep expanding offshore wind as part of its long-term energy strategy. It plans to expand grid-connected offshore wind power capacity to at least 30 gigawatts by 2030, 40 gigawatts by 2035, and 70 gigawatts by 2045.

Corporate PPAs like Google’s agreement with EnBW help speed up this build-out. They send clear demand signals to developers and help reduce reliance on government subsidies.

From Annual Offsets to 24/7 Clean Power

Google’s long-term climate strategy goes beyond buying renewable energy certificates. The company aims to operate on 24/7 carbon-free energy in every region where it runs data centers and offices.

This approach focuses on real-time matching. It encourages a new, clean generation in the same places where electricity is used. Offshore wind PPAs fit well into this strategy in coastal countries like Germany.

Still, a 100 MW contract covers only part of Google’s total electricity needs. Large data centers can consume hundreds of megawatts on their own. As AI workloads grow, total demand could rise further.

That means Google will likely need a mix of solutions. These may include additional wind and solar PPAs, energy storage, grid upgrades, and partnerships with utilities and governments.

SEE MORE on Google:

• Google Rides the Wind: First Offshore Wind Deal in Asia Pacific For 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy
• Google Powers U.S. Data Centers with 1.2 GW of Carbon-Free Energy from Clearway

Google’s clean energy buying reached a new scale in 2024, as rising AI and digital demand pushed electricity use higher. The company signed contracts for over 8 gigawatts (GW) of new clean energy this year. This is its largest annual procurement ever and double the amount from 2023.

Since 2010, Google has secured over 22 GW of clean energy through more than 170 agreements. This amount is about the same as Portugal’s total renewable power output in 2024. More than 25 projects came online in 2024 alone, adding 2.5 GW of new generation.

Despite a 27% rise in electricity use, Google cut data center energy emissions by 12%. This shows how clean energy purchases support its goal to run on 24/7 carbon-free energy by 2030.

The EnBW agreement shows one way forward. It ties new AI infrastructure directly to new renewable supply. It also spreads investment risk between a technology company and a utility.

Big Tech Is Reshaping How Power Gets Built

Google’s 15-year offshore wind deal highlights a broader shift in how clean energy projects are financed and used. Large corporate buyers are no longer just passive consumers of electricity. They are becoming active players in energy markets.

For Germany, the deal supports offshore wind expansion at a time when power demand is rising from electrification, industry, and digital services. For EnBW, it provides long-term revenue certainty, and for Google, it helps align AI growth with climate goals.

The next phase will test execution, but the direction is clear. As AI drives electricity demand higher, long-term renewable contracts are becoming a central part of energy planning. Google’s offshore wind agreement in Germany is one of the clearest examples of how these trends are coming together.

• READ MORE: AI Demand to Drive $600B From the Big Five for GPU and Data Center Boom by 2026

The post Google Locks In 100 MW of Offshore Wind to Power Europe’s AI Growth appeared first on Carbon Credits.