San Francisco Chronicle
Google invested $38.8 million in two wind power farms in North Dakota on Friday, the company announced today.
Google has been dabbling in alternative energy for years now, mostly through investments in early stage green tech companies.
This represents Google's first investment in an actual, utility-scale project. The two farms generate 169.5 megawatts of power, "enough to power more than 55,000 homes".
Last year, Google applied for a license to trade energy and renewable credits, ostensibly just to move surplus power from its campus and servers.
$38 million isn't a serious sum for Google, and most likely this is just another instance of Google casting its net very wide. But a source in renewable energy tells us there has been speculation in the industry that Google plans to make a big play in the space, and that this would be a logical first step.
Google has been dabbling in alternative energy for years now, mostly through investments in early stage green tech companies.
This represents Google's first investment in an actual, utility-scale project. The two farms generate 169.5 megawatts of power, "enough to power more than 55,000 homes".
Last year, Google applied for a license to trade energy and renewable credits, ostensibly just to move surplus power from its campus and servers.
$38 million isn't a serious sum for Google, and most likely this is just another instance of Google casting its net very wide. But a source in renewable energy tells us there has been speculation in the industry that Google plans to make a big play in the space, and that this would be a logical first step.
