Two new renewable energy agreements involving Malaysia are a reminder of the growing power demands of data centres and of date centre owners’ need to find cleaner, cheaper and more demand-responsive ways to meet them.
TotalEnergies, a global integrated energy company, and multinational technology corporation Google have signed a 21-year power purchase agreement (PPA) which will see Google supplied with a total volume of 1 TWh (equivalent to 20 MW) of certified renewable power from the Citra Energies solar plant in the country’s northern Kedah province. Kedah is a state in northwest Malaysia, bordering Thailand.
The solar farm, which is scheduled to enter construction in early 2026, will support Google’s data centre operations in Malaysia. The Malaysian Energy Commission awarded the project to TotalEnergies (49%) and its local partner MK Land (51%) in August 2023, as part of what is known as Malaysia’s Corporate Green Power Programme (CGPP), whose provisions include allowing businesses to secure long-term electricity from clean energy providers.
The agreement reflects Google’s strategy of enabling new, clean energy to the grid systems where they operate. It builds upon the PPA announced by TotalEnergies in November to supply renewable power to Google’s data centres in the United States.
The PPA should take effect upon the project’s financial close, expected in the first quarter of 2026.
TotalEnergies says it is building a competitive portfolio that combines renewables (solar, onshore wind, offshore wind) and flexible assets (combined cycle gas turbine, storage) to deliver clean, firm power to its customers.
But that’s not all Google has in mind. In addition, it plans to purchase electricity from a 30-megawatt solar farm, also in Kedah, to be developed by a consortium led by the Malaysian unit of Japan-based Shizen Energy in a long-term solar power agreement. Shizen Energy is actively expanding its clean energy portfolio in Southeast Asia.
As Energy, Oil & Gas Magazine says, this deal highlights how large technology companies are using power purchase agreements (which allow a company to lock in a fixed price for electricity over a set term), while also meeting environmental targets by sourcing clean power.
It adds that the project also helps align energy generation with operational demand and that the Corporate Green Power Programme and investment incentives are helping to position Malaysia as a destination for renewable partnerships. The exact allocation of Shizen Energy’s power to specific Google facilities has not been detailed.
