PRESS RELEASE:
Google announces its first wind power transaction in Norway. Google buys 12 years of renewable energy through an agreement between BlackRock, Zephyr and Norsk Vind Energi, to supply its European data centres with renewable energy.
Oslo, June 30, 2016 - Google, BlackRock, Zephyr and Norsk Vind Energi today announced that Google will purchase the whole electric power production of a new wind farm to be built south of Stavanger, for a period of 12 years. The new power purchase agreement is Google’s first in Norway, and the 17th global agreement for the purchase of renewable energy for its data centres.
The agreement will provide Google’s European data centres with supplementary renewable energy. This cross-border agreement is made possible by Europe’s gradually more integrated power market – and in particular, Scandinavia’s Nord Pool market– which provides Google with the opportunity to purchase renewable energy whose origin is guaranteed to be in Norway, and consume corresponding amounts of power at other locations in Europe. Zephyr and Norsk Vind Energi, two of Norway's leading wind farm developers and operators, will now start work on the new wind power farm. The 50-turbine project, with a total capacity of 160MW, has already received all relevant planning approvals and permits. When it is completed towards the end of 2017, it will be the biggest operational wind power farm in Norway.
Funds managed by BlackRock, the world's biggest asset manager, and leading investors in renewable energy, managing renewable assets valued at more than USD 2.5 billion, are financing the project. SunEdison was an integral part of the development and the structuring of the financing of the project. Google has been carbon neutral since 2007, and we are committed to supplying 100% of our operations with sources of renewable energy. The current agreement, which is Google’s first wind power agreement in Norway and the biggest to date in Europe, is an important step towards attaining this commitment”, says Marc Oman, Manager of European Energy in Google Global Infrastructure.
“We are very happy to be able to collaborate with Google, Zephyr and Norsk Vind Energi in the completion of this transactional milestone in Norway. This project is proof of BlackRock’s continuous focus on investments in renewable energy, where the company has invested in more than 75 renewable projects across USA, Canada, Ireland, Sweden, France and the UK in recent years”, says Rory O’Connor, Managing Director and Head of renewable energy in Europa with BlackRock.
“This transaction shows that global players like Google and BlackRock think Norwegian wind farms are attractive, and that Norwegian wind power is part of the international efforts to reduce the carbon footprint. Zephyr and Norsk Vind Energi are proud of our success in developing what will be Norway's biggest wind farm when it is commissioned in 2017, says Olav Rommetveit of Zephyr.
For more information about Google’s investments in and use of renewable energy, please refer to http://www.google.com/green/energy/. Take a virtual tour of our data centres on http://www.google.com/about/data centers/inside/index.htmlOm Google Inc.
Larry Page and Sergey Brin established Google in September 1998. Since then, the company has grown to more than 50,000 employees globally, with a broad range of popular products and platforms, such as Search, Maps, Ads, Gmail, Android, Chrome and YouTube. In October 2015, Alphabet became Google’s parent company. Read more about Alphabet here.
About BlackRock
BlackRock is a global leader in investment management, risk
management and advisory services for institutional and retail clients. In March
31, 2016, BlackRock’s AUM was $4.737 trillion. BlackRock helps clients around
the world meet their goals and overcome challenges with a range of products
that include separate accounts, mutual funds, iShares ® (exchange-traded
funds), and other pooled investment vehicles. BlackRock also offers risk
management, advisory and enterprise investment system services to a broad base
of institutional investors through BlackRock Solutions®. As of March 31, 2016,
the firm had approximately 13,000 employees in more than 30 countries and a
major presence in global markets, including North and South America, Europe,
Asia, Australia and the Middle East and Africa. For additional information,
please visit the Company’s website at www.blackrock.com | Twitter:
@blackrock_news | Blog: www.blackrockblog.com | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/blackrock
About BlackRock Real Assets
BlackRock, the largest investment manager in the world, sits at
the intersection of global capital and Real Asset investing opportunities. With
deep industry expertise, demonstrated access to proprietary deals and a purely
fiduciary mindset, our experienced investment professionals leverage
BlackRock’s unparalleled risk management capabilities, global reach and deep
local presence to deliver compelling investment opportunities to meet our
clients’ needs. BlackRock provides investors with Private Real Estate Debt
& Equity, Real Estate Securities and Infrastructure Debt & Equity via
funds, co-investments and managed accounts, and currently has $30 billion in
invested and committed Real Estate and Infrastructure assets and capital. Our
300-person team is based in 22 offices globally.
About Zephyr AS
Zephyr was established in 2006 and is currently one of the
leading Norwegian companies involved in the development, construction and
operation of wind farms in Norway. Zephyr has built wind farms with a total
installed capacity of more than 135MW, and has a development portfolio with a
further 450MW. Zephyr is owned by the energy companies Østfold Energi (50%),
Vardar (25%) and Energiselskapet Buskerud (25%).
About Norsk Vind Energi AS
Since its establishment in 1996, Norsk Vind Energi AS (NVE) has
built and operated wind farms with a total capacity of 75MW. 112MW is now under
construction by NVE, and a further 500MW is under development. The company is
considered the leading privately-owned wind power developer and operator in
Norway, and its partly owned Høg-Jæren wind farm has won the NORWEAS prize for
best wind farm for three years running.
Press contacts
Google: Gustaf Brusewitz, +46 734 311550, gbrusewitz@google.com
BlackRock: Roland Leithaeuser, +49 (0)69 505003103
roland.leithaeuser@blackrock.com and Celeste Herriger, +44 (0) 207 743 1839,
celeste.herriger@blackrock.com
Zephyr: Olav Rommetveit, +47 97663120,
or@zephyr.no, Tone Sundnes Reiten, +47 951 79 597, tsr@ostfoldenergi.no
Norsk
Vind Energi: Lars Helge Helvig, +47 95169000, helvig@vind.no and Rune Hersvik, +47
916 35724, rune@vind.no
The governement have suggested increased taxes for the industry by implementation of a resource rent tax on wind power, an increased production fee and an extraordinary tax on the energy sold for a price that exceeds 70 øre per kWh.t, and a doubling of the production fee.
