Global technology company Google has announced a capital investment in a Taiwanese solar developer owned by BlackRock’s Climate Infrastructure business that it says will support the development of a 1 GW new solar PV capacity in Taiwan.

The undisclosed investment in the BlackRock portfolio company New Green Power (NGP) will facilitate the buildout of the latter’s large-scale solar pipeline. BlackRock took over complete ownership of the NGP in August 2022. Taiwan is where Google signed its 1^st PPA in Asia for a 10 MW solar power plant.

Google’s Global Head of Data Center Energy, Amanda Peterson Corio said this investment will advance clean energy on the local electricity grid, and also the company’s own 24/7 carbon-free goal.

Corio explained, “We expect to procure up to 300 MW of solar energy from this pipeline through power purchase agreements (PPAs) and the associated energy attribute certificates (Taiwan Renewable Energy Certificates or T-RECs) to help meet electricity demand from our data center campus, cloud region and office operations in Taiwan.”

Additionally, the tech giant plans to offer a portion of this clean energy capacity to its semiconductor suppliers and manufacturers in the region to help them advance their own sustainability goals. This, added Corio, will also enable Google to reduce its Scope 3 emissions from its value chain.

Google claims its advocacy and engagement efforts were a key driver of the 2017 amendment of Taiwan’s Electricity Act which it says opened up the market to allow non-utility companies to directly purchase renewable energy.

Corporate procurement of renewable energy in Asia Pacific is on the rise as companies aim to achieve their decarbonization targets. According to Wood Mackenzie Taiwan is one of the leading Asia Pacific markets for renewable energy corporate PPAs (see Expect 7 GW Worth Corporate PPAs In Asia Pacific In 2022).