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Google Joins Hands with Sol Systems to Invest in Solar Energy Projects

The collaboration in North and South Carolina will bring more clean energy to the grid and help low-income communities adapt to climate change.

March 10, 2023. By Anurima Mondal

Google and Sol Systems have announced a unique renewable energy procurement and investment strategy that not only enables the development of new solar energy projects but also supports local communities where the projects are built.

Both the companies have structured an integrated clean energy investment and procurement strategy for solar projects being developed by Pine Gate Renewables in North and South Carolina. This strategy provides capital to enable 225 MWdc of new solar energy projects and 18 MW of battery storage resources.

These assets are being developed in a region with relatively low renewable energy penetration and of specific focus for Google and its 24/7 carbon-free energy goal.

Alongside this investment, Google and Sol Systems will deploy capital to seed critical investments into regional community organizations that serve under-resourced and minority communities.

The investment will focus on reducing energy burden by enabling critical home pre-weatherization and safety upgrades to low- and moderate-income (LMI) households. Four regional organizations will receive initial funding from the partnership: Roanoke Electric Cooperative (NC), Santee Electric Cooperative (SC), Aiken Electric Cooperative (SC), and the Sustainability Institute of South Carolina.

"We are honored to be working with Google, a pioneer in renewable energy procurement and community investment," said Yuri Horwitz, CEO, Sol Systems.

"By 2030, we're aiming for every Google data center to operate on clean energy every hour of every day. As we work toward this goal, we are committed to ensuring that the communities where we operate are actively benefiting from the clean energy transition. We're excited to partner with Sol Systems to not only bring new solar projects online to one of the most difficult grids to decarbonise but also work with them to help lower the energy burden in under-resourced communities through the clean energy transition," added Christopher Scott, Energy Lead at Google.

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Roanoke Electric Cooperative

Santee Electric Cooperative

Aiken Electric Cooperative

Sustainability Institute of South Carolina