Tech giant Google has announced plans with utility DTE Energy to develop a new data centre in Michigan, US, including 1,600MW of solar paired with 450MW of energy storage.
According to US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, the site, potentially located in Van Buren Township, will be dubbed Project Cannoli, and will utilise 400MW/1,600MWh of battery energy storage systems (BESS) and develop 50MW of long-duration energy storage (LDES).
Under the terms of Google and DTE’s clean capacity accelerator agreement (CCAA), Google will fund the solar and storage resources. DTE will operate these resources over the 20-year duration of the contract, with options to extend subject to mutual agreement.
The CCAA also requires Google to provide DTE with Zonal Resource Credits (ZRCs) of approximately 300MW of accredited capacity in MISO Zone 7 at no cost to DTE.
Utility companies within the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), which manages the electric grid across parts of 15 states in the Midwest, South, and Canada, use ZRCs to show they have enough capacity to fulfil energy demands.
Google also announced a commitment of US$10 million towards initiatives aimed at reducing household energy bills in Michigan, such as home weatherisation and energy efficiency programmes.
Recently, Google has taken several steps toward expanding its data centre presence. Earlier this month, the company completed its US$4.75 billion purchase of asset manager TPG Rise Climate’s share of US renewable energy developer Intersect Power.
TPG stated that the acquisition provides Google with a scalable way to meet increasing compute needs and enables the co-location of power sources with data centres. Google has announced plans to invest US$40 billion in constructing three data centers in Texas by 2027. During an earnings call earlier this month, CEO Sundar Pichai revealed that the company intends to spend US$185 billion on AI-related capital expenses this year.
In February, utility Xcel Energy announced it would install 30GWh of US startup Form Energy’s iron-air batteries at a Google-owned data centre in Pine Island, Minnesota.
Former US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm noted of the Google and DTE data centre on LinkedIn, “I really appreciate that Google is committed to working with Van Buren Township to make this a win-win, including by using advanced cooling technologies that do not require major water use.”
