Alphabet to acquire data center partner Intersect for $4.75 billion

Google parent company Alphabet (GOOG. O) has agreed to buy clean energy developer Intersect Power LLC for $4.75 billion in cash plus existing debt, in one of its biggest deals to significantly expand its data centers to support its artificial intelligence business. At a time when the aging U.S. power grid is struggling to meet the first surge in electricity consumption in decades due to the development of AI, the construction of new factories and the electrification of the economy. The acquisition aims to gain more power security for Google's data centers. According to media reports, Google has taken a minority stake in the energy supplier last year by partnering with Intersect to build a large power plant near the data center campus. Sundar Pichai, chief executive of Google and Alphabet, said in a statement: "Intersect will help us expand capacity, operate more nimbly in building new power generation facilities to accommodate new data centre loads, and reimagine energy solutions to drive innovation and leadership in the US."