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Google has reached a $3bn deal to access hydroelectric power from Brookfield’s renewables arm, part of a race to secure clean energy to meet booming power demand from cloud computing and artificial intelligence.
谷歌已与布鲁克菲尔德旗下可再生能源部门达成一项价值30亿美元的协议，获取水电资源。这是为应对云计算与人工智能带来的激增用电需求，各大科技企业竞相锁定清洁能源的重要一环。
The two 20-year power purchase agreements, the largest of their kind for hydropower, will first deliver up to a total of 670 megawatts of power from Brookfield’s Holtwood and Safe Harbor facilities in Pennsylvania, which the asset manager acquired in 2015 and 2014, respectively.
这两项为期20年的电力购买协议是水电领域规模最大的此类交易之一，初期将从布鲁克菲尔德位于宾夕法尼亚州的霍特伍德(Holtwood)和赛夫港(Safe Harbor)电站提供总计最高达670兆瓦的电力。这两座电站分别于2015年和2014年被该资产管理公司收购。
Google will have the option of procuring power from a total of 3 gigawatts worth of hydroelectric assets through future projects, including upgrading hydro installations. Power from these facilities that is not required by the tech giant will be funnelled to electricity markets across the US.
谷歌还将获得选择权，可通过未来项目——包括水电设施升级——从总计达3吉瓦的水电资产中采购电力。其未使用的电力将输送至全美各地的电力市场。
The deal is part of an effort to “responsibly grow the digital infrastructure that powers daily life for people, communities and businesses”, Google said.
谷歌表示，这项交易是“以负责任的方式发展数字基础设施，为人们、社区和企业的日常生活提供动力”努力的一部分。
It comes as technology companies rush to meet AI’s intense energy demands while easing concerns about the environmental impact of the technology.
此举正值各大科技公司竞相应对人工智能带来的巨大能耗压力，并试图缓解外界对该技术环境影响的担忧之际。
While data centre developers have previously struck similar deals to finance wind and solar farms, the focus on hydropower reflects a political and regulatory shift towards “firm” sources of renewable energy — which provide a consistent power supply regardless of the weather or time of day.
过去，数据中心开发商多通过类似协议为风能和太阳能项目融资，而此次转向水电，则反映出政策与监管层面正日益倾向于支持“稳定型”可再生能源——即无论天气或昼夜都能持续供电的能源形式。
Social media group Meta in June agreed to buy the output of a nuclear plant in Illinois for two decades.
今年6月，社交媒体集团Meta同意在未来二十年内购买伊利诺伊州一座核电站的全部电力产出。
US President Donald Trump’s so-called big, beautiful fiscal bill, which was passed this month, retained production and investment tax credits for hydropower until 2036. Wind and solar projects will lose these credits unless they are placed in service by the end of 2027 or begin construction within the next twelve months.
美国总统唐纳德•特朗普本月通过的所谓“大而美”的财政法案将水电的生产与投资税收抵免延长至2036年。而风能和太阳能项目若未能在2027年底前投入运营，或在未来12个月内开工建设，将失去这些税收优惠。
According to data from the International Energy Agency, by 2030 the US will consume more energy for processing data than for manufacturing aluminium, steel, cement and chemicals combined.
根据国际能源署数据，到2030年，美国用于数据处理的能源消耗将超过铝、钢铁、水泥和化工等行业的总和。
Globally, data centres could consume 945 terawatt hours of electricity by 2030, the IEA said.
国际能源署表示，到2030年，全球数据中心的用电量可能高达9450亿千瓦时。
“Our partnership with Google demonstrates the critical role that hydropower can play in helping hyperscale [data centre] customers meet their energy goals,” said Connor Teskey, president of Brookfield Asset Management.
布鲁克菲尔德资产管理公司总裁康纳•泰斯基(Connor Teskey)表示：“我们与谷歌的合作展现了水电在帮助超大规模数据中心客户实现能源目标方面所能发挥的关键作用。”
“Delivering power at scale and from a range of sources will be required to meet the growing electricity demands from digitalisation and artificial intelligence,” he said.
他表示：“要满足数字化和人工智能带来的不断增长的用电需求，必须实现规模化供电，并来自多样化的能源来源。”
In response to booming data centre demand, customer advocates have raised concerns over the impact of ballooning power demand on household prices.
面对数据中心需求激增，消费者权益倡导者纷纷表达担忧，认为激增的用电量可能会推高居民电价，带来负面影响。
Industry figures have pushed direct power purchase agreements — like Tuesday’s deal — as a way for tech giants such as Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta to help pay for extra generating capacity, easing capacity and cost pressures.
行业人士推动采用直接购电协议（如本周二的这项交易），作为谷歌、微软、亚马逊和Meta等科技巨头参与新发电能力建设的一种方式，从而缓解电力系统的产能和成本压力。