Equinix has signed its first green power purchase agreement in the Asia-Pacific region

US digital infrastructure company Equinix has signed its first long-term green power purchase agreement (PPA) in the Asia-Pacific region.

The company signed a PPA in Australia with Portuguese-based clean energy enterprise TagEnergy for 115 MW. This will power Equinix’s 17 International Business Exchange® data centres across Australia. It will also support the Australian technology industry’s net-zero goals.

Equinix says Australia will be key to meeting its goal of using 100% renewable energy by 2030. In 2022, the company achieved 96% coverage globally. Based on current load projections, the Golden Plains Wind Farm is expected to provide the final 4% renewables target.

Sourcing energy from Australia’s largest wind farm

The renewable energy will be sourced from the A$3 billion Golden Plains Wind Farm in the state of Victoria. The project is Australia’s largest wind farm to date and will feature 215 turbines with a capacity of approximately 6.2 MW each. When both stages of the 1,330 MW project are completed, the Golden Plains Wind Farm will produce more than 4,000 GWh of green energy annually.

TagEnergy owns 85% of Golden Plains Wind Farm – East (the first stage of the project). Ingka Group owns the remaining 15%. Founded in 2019, TagEnergy is an energy storage developer and a subsidiary of France-based Impala SAS.

Stage one consists of 122 turbines with an expected annual production of more than 2,000 GWh or 756 MW. Equinix will offtake nearly 20% of the total energy generated by the Golden Plains Wind Farm – East. The project has started construction and is expected to come online by 2029.

Green PPAs in Australia

Equinix is one of several companies that have signed PPAs to purchase green energy from Australian renewables projects. They include

• Rio Tinto will receive all the energy output from European Energy’s 1.1 GW solar farm
• Microsoft will source 300 MW from the Walla Walla Solar Farm
• Anglo-American will source 234 MW from the Clarke Creek Wind Farm and Blue Grass Solar Farm
• BHP will source 203 MW from Neoen’s Goyder South Wind Farm
• Telstra will source 111 MW from the Macintyre Wind Farm
• Woolworths will source 38 MW from the Port Augusta Renewable Energy Park
• Queensland’s Stanwell will source energy from Acciona’s 380 MW solar farm.

Australia’s large pipeline of renewable energy projects make it a prime location for securing renewable energy PPAs. Australian advisory firms with expertise in energy procurement can help investors structure and negotiate PPAs. The Business Renewables Centre Australia is also working to make it easier to procure green energy under PPAs.