Digital Realty invests in Photovoltaics in Germany through a Power Purchase Agreement with ENGIE

Frankfurt/Cologne – Digital Realty (DLR), the largest global provider of cloud- and carrier-neutral data center, colocation, and interconnection solutions, and the global energy company ENGIE, today announced an agreement that will drive the expansion of renewable energies in Germany.

Digital Realty and ENGIE have signed a 10-year power purchase agreement (PPA) for a 116 megawatts (MW) share of a new 154 MW ground mounted solar photovoltaic project.  Digital Realty’s offtake commitment, estimated at 120 gigawatt hours (GWh) per year, supports the construction of the new solar park to be built by CEE Group, an infrastructure fund specializing in renewable energy projects.  Located in Brandenburg in the northeast of Germany, the solar park is scheduled to start operation in the first half of 2023.

“The climate challenge is one of the critical issues facing society today.  As an industry-leader, Digital Realty focuses on supporting the evolving needs of our global customer base, helping them deliver growth, while supporting net-new renewable energy projects where we operate,” says Volker Ludwig, Managing Director – Germany, Digital Realty.

Digital Realty has achieved 100% renewable energy coverage for its entire European portfolio and its U.S. colocation portfolio, and is carbon neutral in France (Scopes 1 and 2), resulting in 64% renewable energy coverage across its global portfolio in 2021, representing an increase of 14% from 2020.  In 2022, Digital Realty further expanded its renewable portfolio and added green assets to the energy grid, contracting for 490 MW of solar and wind to support its global data center portfolio.

As the interface between CEE and Digital Realty, ENGIE worked to match the supply with the demand for renewable energy, as well as design a flexible PPA tailored to the needs of Digital Realty.

"We are pleased to support Digital Realty’s efforts to add new renewables in markets where the company operates.  As a major player in renewable PPAs, we have the opportunity to match suppliers and buyers of green power, even in a highly volatile market environment.  This transaction supports the development of new renewable energies in Germany and enhances the continued sustainable operation of Digital Realty’s data centers" said Katrin Fuhrmann, Head of Origination, ENGIE.

In 2020, Digital Realty set aggressive science-based carbon emissions targets with the Science-Based Target initiative (SBTi), becoming the first global data center organization of its size and scale to do so.  The business has committed to reducing Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 68% and Scope 3 emissions by 24% by 2030.