Alphabet to buy clean energy developer Intersect in $6b deal amid AI push
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Alphabet will acquire clean energy developer Intersect’s energy and data centre projects in development or under construction.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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- Alphabet will acquire Intersect for $4.75 billion to expand computing and power capacity for AI development amid rising electricity demands.
- Intersect has $15 billion in assets, with projects representing 10.8 gigawatts of power expected online/in development by 2028.
- Intersect’s existing operating assets in Texas and California will operate separately, supported by existing investors and Alphabet.
AI generated
SAN FRANCISCO – Alphabet said on Dec 22 that it would buy clean energy developer Intersect for US$4.75 billion (S$6.1 billion) in cash, plus assumed debt, as tech giants spend billions to expand the computing and power capacity necessary for developing artificial intelligence (AI).
Big Tech has ramped up investments in energy firms as US power grids struggle to keep pace with the soaring electricity demand of generative AI, amid an intensifying race to capitalise on the booming technology.
Under the deal, the Google parent will acquire Intersect’s energy and data centre projects that are in development or under construction.
The company has US$15 billion of assets either operating or under construction. By 2028, Intersect projects representing about 10.8 gigawatts of power are expected to be online or in development. That is more than 20 times the electricity produced by the Hoover Dam.
The acquisition adds to a string of Alphabet investments and partnerships in the energy space. Earlier in December, utility company NextEra expanded its partnership with Google Cloud to build new energy supplies for the company’s operations across the US.
Deal terms
Google, along with TPG Rise Climate, backed Intersect as part of a more than US$800 million funding round in December 2024. That announcement also included plans to develop industrial parks to house gigawatts of data centre capacity co-located with new clean energy plants.
Intersect’s operations will remain separate from Alphabet. The company’s existing operating assets in Texas and its operating and in-development assets in California will not be part of the acquisition and will operate as an independent company, supported by existing investors, Alphabet said.
Its Texas projects include Quantum, a clean energy storage system being built directly alongside a data centre campus for Google.
Intersect will also explore a range of emerging technologies to increase and diversify energy supply, while supporting Google’s US data centre investments, Alphabet said. REUTERS
