Google is spending big to build a lead in the AI energy race

Deal to buy wind and solar developer Intersect is the latest in a series of moves that have left Google prepared for data-center power crunch

- Katherine Blunt

Google's pending deal to buy Intersect would make it the only tech giant to own a power company.

(REUTERS)

Google plans to spend $4.75 billion to help solve a problem stymieing the AI race: finding enough electricity to run an ever-larger fleet of data centers.

The company’s pending deal to buy Intersect, a wind and solar developer, would make it the only tech giant to own a power company. That could give it a significant advantage over rivals as power officials favor tech companies prepared to bring their own electricity sources online and the Trump administration presses them to avoid passing on power costs to consumers.

The deal is the latest in a series of bets Google has made to develop a soup-to-nuts strategy for accessing vast amounts of power. Among its competitors, Google was first to strike deals to develop advanced nuclear and geothermal plants designed to operate constantly. It was first to experiment with how it can reduce data-center power use during times of strain on the grid. And with the acquisition of Intersect, Alphabet will be the first to incorporate within its business the means to build its own electricity sources for Google data centers.

“The energy system, I would say, globally, is no longer fit for purpose for serving the demands of AI,” said Amanda Peterson Corio, Google’s global head of data-center energy. "What we're trying to do is really think proactively.”

The acquisition has the potential to help Google better navigate the challenging process of bringing data centers online as regulators and legislators increasingly worry about electricity supply shortages. Tech companies are seeking to build data centers far more quickly than new power plants can be built to serve them.