On February 9, 2026, TotalEnergies and Google announced one of the largest corporate renewable energy agreements ever executed in the United States: two long‑term power purchase agreements (PPAs) pursuant to which TotalEnergies will supply 1 gigawatt (GW) of solar capacity to power Google’s data centers in Texas over 15 years, delivering an estimated 28 terawatt‑hours (TWh) of electricity over the contract term. This follows the recent announcements by TotalEnergies of two other large volume PPAs signed between Google and TotalEnergies or one of its affiliates.
The power will be generated by two TotalEnergies‑owned utility‑scale solar projects currently under development in Texas—the 805‑MW Wichita project and the 195‑MW Mustang Creek project—with construction scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2026. The company has described the transaction as the largest renewable PPA it has ever signed in the U.S., underscoring the scale of demand being driven by hyperscale data centers and AI infrastructure.
Why Texas—and Why Now?
Texas is a sensible choice. The state offers strong solar resources, abundant land, and access to the ERCOT market, a deregulated grid where new generation can be built relatively quickly. At the same time, ERCOT is experiencing rapid load growth driven by data centers, electrification and industrial growth, creating an urgent need for new capacity additions. Both companies emphasized that the projects will add new generation to the local system rather than reallocating existing clean power.
For Google, the agreement complements other large PPAs it has recently signed across multiple U.S. regions, including deals with Clearway Energy—half‑owned by TotalEnergies—totaling roughly 1.2 GW. This multi‑region approach reflects a strategy of diversifying power supply to manage price volatility and transmission constraints while at the same time pursuing long‑term decarbonization goals.
The Upside: Scale, Price Stability, and Emissions Reductions
The advantages of the deal are substantial. First, scale matters: 1 GW of solar represents a material addition to ERCOT’s generation mix and sends a strong investment signal to the market. Second, long‑term PPAs provide price certainty for Google, helping hedge against wholesale power volatility in Texas. Third, the projects support Google’s climate objectives by supplying large volumes of carbon‑free electricity tied to new assets, rather than relying solely on renewable energy certificates.
There are also local economic benefits. TotalEnergies has stated that construction of the Wichita and Mustang Creek projects will create several hundred jobs and generate long‑term tax revenues for surrounding communities, a common but meaningful outcome of utility‑scale renewable development in rural Texas.
The Core Challenge: Non‑Dispatchable Power
Despite its scale, the deal also highlights a central tension in data‑center decarbonization: solar power is non‑dispatchable. Solar generation follows daylight and weather conditions, while data centers operate 24/7 with limited tolerance for interruption. The PPAs do not, based on public disclosures, include on‑site firming resources such as dedicated battery storage or gas‑fired backup capacity.
This mismatch does not mean the power is unusable—far from it—but it does mean that Google will continue to rely on the broader grid for balancing during nights, cloudy periods, and peak demand hours. In ERCOT, that balancing is often provided by natural gas generation. As a result, while the annual energy delivered may be carbon‑free on a net basis, hour‑by‑hour emissions matching remains a challenge, particularly during Texas summer nights when solar output falls and air‑conditioning loads peak.
Grid Implications for ERCOT
From a system perspective, adding large volumes of non‑dispatchable solar can lower wholesale prices during midday hours and reduce emissions, but it can also increase net load ramps in the evening—the so‑called “duck curve” effect. Without sufficient storage, flexible generation, or demand response, these ramps can stress the grid.
TotalEnergies has emphasized its broader U.S. portfolio, which includes wind and battery storage assets, and has articulated a strategy of pairing renewables with flexible resources to offer “clean firm power” over time. However, the Texas projects tied to this deal are described as primarily solar, meaning the firming challenge is pushed onto the market rather than solved within the contract itself.
Strategic Significance Beyond the Contract
The broader significance of the agreement lies less in any single project and more in what it signals. Hyperscale technology companies are now acting as anchor customers for grid‑scale generation, effectively shaping where and how new power infrastructure is built. For energy companies like TotalEnergies, long‑term PPAs with creditworthy buyers de‑risk capital investment and accelerate deployment.
At the same time, the deal illustrates the next frontier of corporate clean energy procurement. As volumes grow, the focus is shifting from “how much renewable energy” to “when and how reliably” that energy is delivered. Non‑dispatchable solar can no longer be the entire answer for energy-intensive, 24-7 facilities.
A Deal That Solves Today’s Problem—and Frames Tomorrow’s
The TotalEnergies–Google solar agreement meaningfully advances clean energy deployment in Texas and helps meet surging data‑center demand with new, emissions‑free generation. Yet it also underscores a reality facing the power sector: scale without firmness is only a partial solution. As AI and cloud computing continue to drive electricity demand higher, future deals are likely to layer storage, flexible generation, or advanced market mechanisms on top of solar at similar scale.
In that sense, the 1‑GW Texas deal is both a milestone and a marker—showing how far corporate renewables have come, and how much more complex the next phase will be.
