JULYASIA BUSINESS OUTLOOK9Google has taken a stake in Taiwan's New Green Power (NGP) and has the option to purchase up to 300 megawatts of renewable energy from the BlackRock fund-owned company. This initiative is part of Google's efforts to reduce its a and those of its suppliers.Amid increasing pressure from investors to cut greenhouse gas emissions, tech companies have been setting ambitious targets. Google's goal is to operate entirely on carbon-free energy. However, the rising demand for data-processing capacity, especially for artificial intelligence, has led to an increase in emissions.Taiwan, a key location for Google's cloud technology operations with a data center and offices, generates nearly 85 percent of its power from fossil fuels, according to Amanda Peterson Corio, Google's Global Head of Data Center Energy. The investment in NGP aims to support the development of a large-scale solar energy infrastructure in Taiwan.Google and BlackRock did not disclose the size of the equity stake in NGP. However, Corio mentioned that the investment is expected to facilitate equity and debt financing for NGP's 1-gigawatt solar energy pipeline. Taiwan aims to reach 20 gigawatts of solar capacity by 2025 and up to 80 gigawatts by 2050.In addition to using the solar power for its operations, Google plans to provide some of it to its suppliers and manufacturers in the region. This move will help Google reduce its Scope 3 emissions, which are linked to its value chain, Corio explained. Saudi Aramco, a leading energy company in the world has awarded $25 billion worth of contracts for the development of its Jafurah gas project to increase production capacity and cut emissions that contribute to global warming, as per sources.The contracts that were presented include $12.4 billion for increasing production at the Jafurah gas field and $8.8 billion for expanding the master gas system, which delivers natural gas to buyers across the nation. Gas rig contracts worth $2.4 billion were also awarded by Aramco, as per company statement,"These contract awards demonstrate our firm belief in the future of gas as an important energy source, as well as a vital feedstock for downstream industries," reported Bloomberg quoting Amin Nasser, chief executive officer of Aramco from a company statement on Sunday.Saudi Arabia has the greatest gas reserves across the globe, and the improvement of such a reserve in the Jafurah field, which is assessed to hold 200 trillion cubic feet of flammable gas will cost almost $100 billion. "The scale of our ongoing investment at Jafurah and the expansion of our Master Gas System underscores our intention to further integrate and grow our gas business to meet anticipated rising demand," said Nasser.The nation's domestic industries will be supplied with the natural gas produced by the project. Any excess capacity will likely be used to produce blue hydrogen or exported to other nations as Liquid Natural Gas (LNG), as per aramco. GOOGLE ACQUIRES STAKE IN TAIWAN'S NGP TO REDUCE CARBON EMISSIONSSAUDI ARAMCO SECURES $25 BILLION CONTRACTS FOR JAFURAH GAS PROJECTNEWSROOM
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