Google’s New 1.9GW Clean Energy Deal Includes Massive 100-Hour Battery

Google Clean Energy Deal Unveils 100-Hour Battery for Minnesota

What is Google's latest clean energy move? The tech giant just announced a landmark 1.9 gigawatt renewable power agreement to support its first Minnesota data center in Pine Island. Central to the deal: a record-breaking 300-megawatt, 100-hour duration battery from startup Form Energy. This partnership aims to keep the facility running on clean power around the clock, even when the wind isn't blowing or the sun isn't shining. For anyone tracking corporate sustainability or grid innovation, this project signals a major leap in making renewables truly reliable.

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Google's Minnesota Data Center: A Clean Energy First

Google's new Pine Island facility marks the company's inaugural data center in Minnesota, strategically located about an hour southeast of Minneapolis. The project represents more than just infrastructure expansion; it's a deliberate step toward the company's ambitious carbon-free energy goals. By anchoring the center with renewable sources from day one, Google sets a precedent for how large-scale tech operations can integrate with regional clean grids. Local communities stand to benefit from job creation and long-term energy investment. The Pine Island site will eventually support Google's suite of services used by millions worldwide. This location choice reflects careful planning around energy access, geographic stability, and partnership opportunities with utilities like Xcel Energy.

Inside the 1.9 Gigawatt Renewable Power Agreement

The scale of Google's clean energy commitment is staggering: 1.4 gigawatts of new wind power paired with 200 megawatts of solar capacity. Developed in collaboration with Xcel Energy, these projects will feed directly into the grid infrastructure supporting the Pine Island data center. Combined, they generate enough electricity to power hundreds of thousands of homes annually. The agreement ensures that the data center's operational demand is matched by newly added renewable generation, avoiding reliance on existing grid mix. This "additionality" principle is critical for credible corporate clean energy claims. By investing in new builds rather than purchasing existing renewable credits, Google amplifies its climate impact. The 1.9GW total represents one of the largest single-facility clean energy backings announced to date.

How Form Energy's 100-Hour Battery Changes the Game

At the heart of this energy ecosystem sits a technological marvel: Form Energy's 300-megawatt, 100-hour duration battery system. With a total storage capacity of 30 gigawatt-hours, it will claim the title of world's largest battery upon completion. Unlike conventional grid batteries that provide backup for 2-4 hours, this system can discharge at full power for nearly four full days. That endurance transforms how renewable energy can be deployed, smoothing out multi-day weather patterns that previously required fossil fuel backups. For Google's data center, it means consistent clean power through calm nights, cloudy stretches, or seasonal lulls. The battery essentially "firms" the renewable supply, making wind and solar as reliable as traditional baseload sources. This capability marks a pivotal shift in grid-scale energy storage strategy.

Iron-Air Technology: Rust-Powered Storage Explained

Form Energy's breakthrough relies on an elegantly simple chemical process: rusting and un-rusting iron. During discharge, oxygen from ambient air flows over iron pebbles inside the battery, causing them to oxidize and release electrons as electricity. To recharge, an electrical current reverses the reaction, stripping oxygen from the rust to restore metallic iron while releasing oxygen back to the atmosphere. This iron-air chemistry avoids scarce materials like lithium or cobalt, using abundant, low-cost iron instead. The system operates at near-ambient pressure and temperature, enhancing safety and reducing engineering complexity. While the round-trip efficiency ranges from 50-70%—lower than lithium-ion's 90%+—the trade-off enables dramatically lower costs. For long-duration storage where efficiency matters less than total capacity and price, iron-air presents a compelling alternative.

Why Long-Duration Batteries Matter for Renewable Grids

As renewable energy scales globally, the intermittency challenge grows more acute. Short-duration batteries excel at smoothing minute-to-minute fluctuations but can't bridge multi-day gaps in wind or solar generation. Long-duration storage like Form's system fills this critical void, enabling grids to rely on renewables for higher percentages of total demand. For energy-intensive operations like data centers, this reliability is non-negotiable. Google's partnership demonstrates how corporate buyers can accelerate deployment of emerging storage technologies through anchor demand. The 100-hour capability also provides resilience against extreme weather events that increasingly disrupt power infrastructure. By proving the technology at utility scale, this project could catalyze broader adoption across industries. Ultimately, long-duration storage brings us closer to a fully decarbonized, resilient electricity system.

Cost vs. Efficiency: The Trade-Off Behind Iron-Air Innovation

Form Energy's value proposition hinges on economics, not just engineering. The company targets a levelized cost of just $20 per kilowatt-hour of storage capacity—roughly one-third the cost of comparable lithium-ion systems. This dramatic price difference stems from iron's abundance, simple manufacturing, and minimal reliance on complex supply chains. While lower efficiency means more energy input is needed to charge the battery, the ultra-low capital cost makes the math work for applications prioritizing total stored energy over round-trip losses. For a data center backed by 1.9GW of renewables, the priority is ensuring clean power availability, not maximizing every watt-hour. This cost structure could unlock long-duration storage for utilities, microgrids, and industrial users previously priced out of the market. As production scales, further cost reductions could make iron-air a cornerstone of the clean energy transition.

What This Deal Means for Google's Carbon-Free Goals

Google has committed to operating on 24/7 carbon-free energy across all campuses and data centers by 2030. The Minnesota project represents a tangible leap toward that target, integrating generation, storage, and load in a single coordinated system. By pioneering long-duration storage at this scale, Google not only secures clean power for its own operations but also validates a model others can replicate. The partnership with Form Energy and Xcel signals confidence in emerging technologies that grid planners increasingly need. As more tech companies set ambitious climate goals, deals like this demonstrate the procurement strategies required to achieve them. Beyond emissions reductions, the project strengthens regional clean energy infrastructure, benefiting all customers on the grid. This holistic approach to corporate sustainability could redefine industry standards for years to come.
Google's Minnesota clean energy deal isn't just another corporate sustainability announcement. It's a blueprint for how technology, policy, and innovation can converge to decarbonize critical infrastructure. With 1.9 gigawatts of new renewables and the world's largest long-duration battery, the Pine Island data center will operate on clean power through any weather scenario. Form Energy's iron-air technology proves that sometimes the oldest materials—like iron and air—can power our most advanced future. As this project comes online, it will offer valuable lessons for utilities, developers, and corporations navigating the clean energy transition. The race to firm up renewable grids just got a powerful new contender. For communities, climate advocates, and tech leaders watching closely, this is more than a milestone—it's a model worth scaling.