The agreement will add five new solar power plants to the US-based technology company’s portfolio. The projects will be developed by IGNIS, a Spain-based developer, and are expected to come online in 2025. The off-taken capacity will be more than enough to cover the power requirements of Equinix’s data centers in Madrid, Barcelona, and Seville. The company currently has four data centers in these locations, with plans to develop another two by the end of 2024. The contract marks the first PPA that Equinix signed in Spain and follows three agreements that the company signed with Neoen and Prokon in Finland in 2022. The new PPAs take Equinix’s total contracted renewables capacity to 595 MW globally, equivalent to nearly two million MWh annually.
Equinix started its PPA program in Nov'15, with an agreement to purchase wind power in Oklahoma and Texas from NextEra Energy and Invenergy. As of 2021, 95% of Equinix’s data centers across the Americas, Asia, and Europe were powered by renewable sources, with over 200 data centers at 100% renewable energy coverage. Since 2015, Equinix has issued over $4.9bn in investment-grade green bonds, the proceeds from which will be allocated towards sustainable initiatives, such as the construction of green buildings, improvement of energy efficiency, and procurement of renewable energy. With the company evaluating additional projects in its core business regions, more PPAs are expected to be announced in the near future.
Equinix plans to shift its focus from virtual PPAs and renewable energy credits (RECs), which constitute 61% of their total contracted green energy, to physical delivery of renewable energy, wherever possible. The company will also evaluate the implementation of on-site solar opportunities, on-site generation from fuel cells, and other distributed low-carbon technologies. Equinix has already installed 44 MW of fuel cells across 15 facilities in the US, providing “always-on” 24/7 baseload power, which complements electricity sourced from the grid. The company is also evaluating the use of Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) and green hydrogen as long-term replacements for diesel generators.
The above analysis is proprietary to Enerdatics’ energy analytics team, based on the current understanding of the available data. The information is subject to change and should not be taken to constitute professional advice or a recommendation.
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