The electrons eventually produced from what could be Virginia’s first onshore wind farm are now committed to a tech giant in a region full of data center activity.
Google and project developer Apex Clean Energy announced a power purchase agreement for the full capacity of the 79.3-MW Rocky Forge Wind farm. Apex hopes to complete construction on Rocky Forge sometime next year and enter commercial operations by 2026.
Once completed, the output of Rocky Forge could match the energy demand from Google’s data centers in Virginia. The company and its parent, Alphabet Inc., have announced goals to achieve net-zero emissions by 2030.
“As we continue to progress towards our goal to operate every Google campus on clean electricity every hour of every day by 2030, we are always looking for opportunities to accelerate the delivery of new clean power to the grid,” said Amanda Peterson Corio, Google head of data center energy, in a statement. “The Rocky Forge Wind project builds on our strong collaboration with Apex Clean Energy to both support decarbonizing our operations in Virginia and the broader PJM grid system.”
The 13 turbines and towers of Rocky Forge Wind are going to be built atop North Mountain in Botetourt County near the rural community of Eagle Rock, Virginia. The power generated is anticipated to equal electricity demand from about 21,000 homes, according to Apex.
It is also Virginia’s first approved wind farm project onshore. Dominion Energy and other developers are working on offshore projects.
“Rocky Forge represents a new chapter in Virginia’s energy transition, delivering lasting economic and environmental benefits to Apex’s home state while advancing Google’s sustainability goals,” said Eamon Perrel, Apex executive vice president of business development. “Google—alongside many key stakeholders over the years—enabled this milestone, demonstrating the power of partnership in accelerating the shift to clean energy.”
The northern side of the commonwealth is home to the nation’s densest concentration of data centers. As of late 2023, northern Virginia was rated as the most active data center market with more than 1.2 GW of capacity in construction, according to real estate management and investment firm CBRE.
Rocky Forge Wind was planned to start several years earlier. As early as 2019, utility Dominion Energy was cutting a deal to purchase the power generated from the project, but the agreement eventually expired without action.
Legal challenges impeded momentum for Apex Clean Energy and the project work, but earlier this year it gained several positive rulings from state and circuit courts, according to the Virginia Business website.
Google has signed up for numerous renewable PPAs to offset its energy usage and reach net-zero equivalency goals. As with many of the largest tech-data firms, the company also is pursuing nuclear energy, including a deal which Google announced in October to purchase power from small modular rector developer Kairos Power.
Apex Clean Energy owns and will operate the Rocky Forge Wind farm.
