Let’s test your memory. Try to think way back… to our last blog post.
In case you’ve already forgotten, we talked about how Google was investing $168 million dollars in WORLD’S LARGEST SOLAR POWER PLANT, the Ivanpah Power Tower, a-way down yonder in the Mojave Desert. Is it coming back to you now?
Well, less than 72- hours later the Green Giant of search engines has announced plans to invest another $100 million in solar’s green cousin, the wind farm; specifically the Shepherds Flat Wind Farm just outside Arlington, Oregon. Apparently Google subscribes to the theory that if you’re going to Go Green, Go Big, because the Shepherd farm is expected to be the WORLD’S LARGEST WIND FARM.
Google recently received the go ahead from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to buy and sell energy at market rates. As such, Google is plowing full-speed ahead in the renewable energies market. According to Google’s blog, the juice produced at Shepherds Flat will be “sold under long term agreements to Southern California Edison.” No doubt that SCE is responding to Gov. Brown’s recently approved legislation that requires California’s energy companies to obtain 33 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2020.
In its blog announcement, Google said,
“This project is exciting to us not only because of its size and scale, but also because it uses advanced technology. This will be the first commercial wind farm in the U.S. to deploy, at scale, turbines that use permanent magnet generators—tech-speak for evolutionary turbine technology that will improve efficiency, reliability and grid connection capabilities.”
Scheduled for completion by 2012, the Shepherd Farm project is being built by Caithness Energy, an energy development company. Other investors include GE, Sumitomo Corporation of American and Tyr Energy.
Google is no stranger to wind farms, having already invested in New Jersey’s Atlantic Wind Connection project, as well as two other wind farms in one of those Dakotas.
The Shepherds Flat wind farm project brings Google’s total green investments to $350 million.
Gee, I noticed that Ace Hardware sells these personal backyard windmills for $89.99. I wonder if Google would be interesting in blowing a few bucks my way. You know, just a little something for the effort.
Sources:
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