Alphabet to Acquire Intersect Power for $4.75B, Bypassing Grid Bottlenecks for AI Energy

Alphabet is acquiring clean energy developer Intersect Power for $4.75 billion to build its own power supply for AI data centers, a move to bypass strained local energy grids amid surging demand.

Google's parent company, Alphabet, has agreed to acquire data center and clean energy developer Intersect Power in a deal valued at $4.75 billion in cash, plus the assumption of the company's debt. The acquisition, announced Monday, is a strategic move to secure the massive energy supply needed for its AI ambitions, effectively bypassing local utilities that are struggling to meet the surging demand.

Securing a reliable power source has become a critical chokepoint for training and deploying advanced AI models. This deal will allow Alphabet to build out its power-generation capacity directly alongside new data centers, sidestepping the strained energy grids that have become a major obstacle for tech expansion. It's less about buying clean energy and more about buying control over its own energy future.

The acquisition specifically includes Intersect's future development projects. Its existing operational assets will be carved out and purchased by other investors to be managed as a separate entity. Alphabet was already a minority stakeholder, having co-led an $800 million strategic funding round in Intersect Power with TPG Rise Climate last December.

Intersect's planned 'data parks' are designed to co-locate data centers with wind, solar, and battery power sources. According to Google, these new sites are expected to become operational in late 2026 and be fully completed by 2027. The transaction itself is expected to close in the first half of next year. While Google will be the anchor tenant, Intersect’s campuses are designed as industrial parks capable of hosting other companies’ AI hardware as well.

PRISM Insight: The AI arms race is expanding from chips and models to a new front: energy infrastructure. This deal signals a major trend of Big Tech vertically integrating into the power sector. They're no longer just consumers of energy; they're becoming self-sufficient utility providers. The ability to secure and control massive, clean power sources is becoming a competitive moat as crucial as proprietary algorithms.

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