Alphabet to buy Intersect Power to build new 'data parks'

Alphabet, Google’s parent company, 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.

Alphabet announced this key acquisition on Monday, aiming to bolster its power-generation capabilities for its expanding network of data centers. This move allows the company to reduce its reliance on local utilities, which are currently struggling to meet the escalating energy demands of AI companies. Securing reliable energy access is now considered vital for training advanced AI models.

This purchase follows Alphabet’s previous investment in Intersect Power. Last December, Google and TPG Rise Climate spearheaded an $800 million strategic funding round, giving Alphabet a minority stake. That earlier partnership established an ambitious goal of reaching a total investment of $20 billion by 2030.

The deal includes Intersect’s future development projects but excludes its existing operations, which will be purchased by other investors and operated as a separate entity. The acquisition is set to close in the first half of next year.

Intersect’s new “data parks,” located alongside wind, solar, and battery power sources, are anticipated to begin operations by late 2026, with full completion expected by 2027.

Google will be the primary user of these facilities. However, the campuses are designed as industrial parks capable of hosting other companies’ AI chips alongside Google’s infrastructure.