TotalEnergies will provide solar energy to Google's Texas Data Centres

TotalEnergies, a French oil major, signed two long-term deals on Monday to supply solar energy to Google's Texas data centres. The company is looking to meet the rising demand for electricity driven by artificial intelligence.

Two Texas sites owned by the group are expected to start construction in the second quarter. Total will be able to deliver 1 gigawatt - or?28 terawatt hours of renewable energy over 15 years.

The company is bucking the trend of oil majors and investing in renewable energy alongside gas fired power?plants. It has also expanded its 'power business' in deregulated markets, where volatility in prices can provide attractive trading opportunities. This includes the ERCOT Market in Texas.

Marc-Antoine Pignon from Total, the vice president of renewables in the United States, said that the agreements marked the largest number of?renewable energy purchase agreements TotalEnergies had ever signed.

Total has already supplied Google with power indirectly via its 50% stakes in Californian renewables company Clearway. Clearway recently signed deals for 1.2 GW of electricity to supply three data centres in the United States. Power markets.

Will Conkling said that the agreement between Google and TotalEnergies "adds new generation to the system and boosts the amount of affordable, reliable power available for the entire region." Reporting by Mateusz Rabiega, America Hernandez and Louise Heavens

(source: Reuters)