Data centres can be the backbone to utility-scale solar and battery energy developments through long-term power purchase agreements that underpin new projects says a new CEC paper, identifying hybrid systems as essential for meeting data centre energy needs.
Data centres can be the backbone to utility-scale solar and battery energy developments through long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) that underpin new project final investment decision milestones, with a new Clean Energy Council (CEC) proposal identifying hybrid systems as essential for meeting data centre energy needs.
On the back of the data centre boom, the CEC proposal outlines opportunities to escalate clean energy investment and boost economic resilience for regional communities by deploying a flexible contracting framework (FCF).
The FCF is a structured pathway for data centre operators to underwrite additional firmed renewables (AFRs) through PPAs or pursue direct asset investment to bridge operational build-time gaps.
These would be backed by renewable certificate markets, namely renewable electricity guarantee of origin certificates (REGOs), which give solar generators additional financial upside when trading green power directly to expanding tech operators, and large-scale generation certificates (LGCs).
