Alphabet to buy Intersect Power to bypass energy grid bottlenecks

Google parent Alphabet has agreed to buy Intersect Power, a data center and clean energy developer, for $4.75 billion in cash plus the assumption of the company’s debt.

The acquisition, which was announced Monday, will help Alphabet expand its power generation capacity alongside new data centers without having to rely on local utilities that are struggling to keep up with the demand of AI companies. Securing access to energy that powers data centers has become a critical part of training AI models.

Alphabet previously held a minority stake in Intersect Power after Google and TPG Rise Climate led an $800 million strategic funding round in the company last December. That partnership set a target of $20 billion in total investment by 2030.

The acquisition includes Intersect’s future development projects, but excludes its existing operation, which will be bought out by other investors and managed as a separate company.

Intersect’s new data parks, which are essentially locations next to wind, solar, and battery power, are expected to be operational late next year and fully completed by 2027, Google said when it announced its minority investment.

The transaction is expected to close in the first half of next year.

Google will be the primary user. However, Intersect’s campuses are designed as industrial parks that can host other companies’ AI chips alongside Google’s.