US renewables developer Apex Clean Energy has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Google LLC for the technology company to offtake the full capacity of the 189-MW Timbermill Wind project in North Carolina.

The wind park will help fulfill the clean energy needs of Google’s data centres on the PJM grid. The PPA is the first between the companies and also marks a rare wind deal for the PJM market, according to the announcement today. Apex chief executive Ken Young said the region is “notoriously difficult to advance wind power.”

Donna Calderon, energy senior lead at Google, expressed satisfaction with the opportunity to bring wind power “to one of the most difficult grids to decarbonise” and to create clean energy jobs for North Carolina.

The PPA is in line with Google’s goal of running on clean electricity around the clock by 2030. The company has matched its annual power demand with renewable energy since 2017.