Google parent Alphabet’s $4.75 billion acquisition of clean energy developer Intersect is a major Pacific Northwest exit that shows how cloud giants are racing to secure the power needed to fuel their AI data center ambitions.

Alphabet, Google’s parent company, has agreed to acquire energy and data center infrastructure firm Intersect in a $4.75 billion cash deal, deepening its push to secure power for the next wave of AI growth.

Google-parent said it would buy Intersect’s data-center projects that are in development, plus multiple gigawatts of energy and the Intersect team as part of the deal.

The deal to buy Intersect for $4.75bn in cash, plus debt, broadens Alphabet’s access to power at a time when the technology giant is competing with rivals including OpenAI, Elon Musk’s xAI and Meta to train and run energy-intensive AI models.