Google said on Thursday it has signed agreements with five U.S. electric utilities across states from Arkansas to Minnesota to reduce its electricity consumption during peak demand periods, as part of its latest effort to secure power for its rapidly expanding data centers amid slow growth in new power supply.
Immediate access to substantial electricity has emerged as one of the major hurdles for Big Tech firms racing to expand artificial intelligence technologies, which are developed in energy-intensive server warehouses known as data centers.
With power supplies running short in some regions and new infrastructure projects often taking years to complete, technology companies have recently taken extraordinary measures, including building new power plants or restarting shuttered nuclear units.
Under the "demand response" agreements, Google will scale back electricity consumption at some of its data centers when grid demand is exceptionally high.
"This is a really important tool for meeting future demand," said Michael Terrell, Google's head of advanced energy.
Power demand typically surges on extremely hot or cold days, as homes and businesses increase cooling or heating, raising the risk of rolling blackouts. Utilities and grid operators maintain extra reserves and have long contracted with large energy users—including manufacturers and cryptocurrency miners—to reduce consumption during peak periods.
Google has now signed contracts with Entergy Arkansas, Minnesota Power, and DTE Energy, adding to initial agreements announced last year with Indiana Michigan Power and the Tennessee Valley Authority.
Under these contracts, Google is committing up to 1 gigawatt of its data center electricity demand to be available for curtailment during peak-use periods when blackout risks are highest. One gigawatt is enough to power approximately 750,000 homes.
