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Google invests $200 million in Texan wind power

By Charlie Osborne | January 10, 2013, 12:42 AM PST

Google takes another step in the world of renewable energy by announcing its latest investment in wind power through the construction of a $200 million wind farm.

The tech giant’s latest bet on alternative energy has arrived in the form of the Spinning Spur Wind Project, which Google Corporate Finance Senior Manager Kojo Ako-Asare explains on Google’s Official Blog as a facility located about 35 miles from Amarillo. The 161 megawatt wind farm was originally built by EDF Renewable Energy, and is powered by 70 2.3 MW Siemens wind turbines.

Ako-Asare commented:

“We look for projects like Spinning Spur because, in addition to creating more renewable energy and strengthening the local economy, they also make for smart investments: they offer attractive returns relative to the risks and allow us to invest in a broad range of assets.”

The wind farm’s turbines began to operate in late 2011.

Google’s total investments in alternative energy has now reached over $1 billion. The firm has backed numerous projects since 2010, bringing the total amount of electrical capacity in which Google invests to about 2 gigawatts of electricity, which is enough to power approximately 500,000 U.S. homes annually.

The Mountain View, Calif. company has also invested in projects including Shepherds Flat, one of the world’s largest wind farms with a capacity of 845 MW, the Ivanpah project, which is 75 percent complete and employs over 2,000 people, and Recurrent Energy’s 88MW solar installation in Sacramento County, Calif., which began commercial operation this month.

In addition to the announcement, Google also released the following infographic:

Thumbnail credit: Tom/Flickr

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About Charlie Osborne

Charlie Osborne is a contributing editor for SmartPlanet.

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Wind Power

Energy Companies buying the wind and solar systems might work as long as we prove it is ok for them to stay between us and our wallets.
I prefer a little noise on the oceans to MASSIVE OIL SPILLS. New tech for wind turbines will allow the storage of power in cryogenic liquid air systems. They are more inefficient but provide consistent output and for a consistent amount of time. I would prefer a little mechanical loss to energy which is free in the 1st place to energy which has an environmental cost forever.

Posted by RLaviolette

10th Jan

Just
In

Liberals? Environmental Wackos? Not a little biased, are you?

If you don't think the environment is important, go into your garage, close all the doors and windows, and run your car. You'll be OK, because everyone knows that there are no such thing as pollutants or poisons. It is all a conspiracy by liberals and environmental wackos! Go ahead, do it, we'll wait.

Posted by michaellashinsky@...

18th Jan

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Wind Power

Posted by RLaviolette

10th Jan

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How many birds did you kill today, Google?

Wind turbines kill countless birds every year, and the greenies don't give a damn about that.

Yet, when a little lizard or the caribou are "threatened" by oil rigs, or when little fish are threatened by a new office building going up, the environmentalists are quick to sue and to protest and to get loud attention in the press.

But, since this is for "clean energy" (as they say), the little birdies can die all they want. Nobody told them to fly into those structures. What are they, blind?

Posted by adornoe

Updated - 10th Jan

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Skyscrapers too then?

If you really want to complain about that, you should really think about all of the buildings that kill birds too. Skyscrapers, yeah, shouldn't use them. Large windows in a library rather than using electricity to light it? Nah, gone, birds will fly into them. Think about it.

Posted by cheesefaceman1

11th Jan

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Your problem is that, you fail to consider how the liberals aren't

complaining about tall buildings or clear windows in cities.

You're not paying attention to the agenda, which is all that I'm talking about. If innocent lizards, and tiny fishes are to be protected because someone is infringing on their territory or waters, why aren't liberals concerned about the skyscrapers that you mentioned? It's the hypocrisy that I was pointing to, and not the particular case of windmills.

To liberals, its about advancing their agenda, and not about a real concern for any kind of little creatures.

Skyscrapers were being constructed before the environmental wackos started making noise about dirty water or dirty air or dirty oil. Now the liberals have taken up that agenda, and they'll do whatever it takes to advance that agenda, including creating issues where there shouldn't be any.

Posted by adornoe

13th Jan

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Edit feature apparently in the fritz , so will use "Reply" to "correct"...

"windmills" 'should read "wind turbines"..

Posted by adornoe

13th Jan

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Liberals? Environmental Wackos? Not a little biased, are you?

Posted by michaellashinsky@...

18th Jan

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Misleading comparisons

Statement like "The firm has backed numerous projects since 2010, bringing the total amount of electrical capacity in which Google invests to about 2 gigawatts of electricity, which is enough to power approximately 500,000 U.S. homes annually" should be avoided when discussing alternative electrical sources. Actual production from 2 GW of mixed wind and solar power is likely to approximate (wind capacity * 30%) + (solar capacity * 20%), thus, assuming a 50-50 mix in the 2 GW Google owns, average output would be around 500 MW in an irregular stream with peaks in excess of around 1.4-1.5 GW and troughs of perhaps only 50-100 MW on calm nights. Without substantial and expensive storage from pumped hydro or batteries it is unrealistic to rely on more than a small amount of this power for regular use. Stating the number of households this will service is meaningless in these circumstances, but if you like your power calculations in household-equivalent units then multiply by the appropriate availability factor, ,3 for wind or .2 for solar. Google is probably planning for the day when a carbon tax will make these assets more valuable.

Posted by John Hartshorn

10th Jan

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Google wind

Too bad Google's other interest in nuclear power doesn't get the $. Windmills use iron ore & coal to make steel and gas to make cement for their 1000 cubic yard foundations. Add in all the mining, crushing & transport of aggregate for concrete, plus maintenance roads per windmill, plus the now clearly short life of individual generators and we see the wind scam in better refie.

No wonder building a nuke emits much less CO2 than building a wind 'farm' hat can only deliver power part of the time.

Fortunately, other folks around the world aren;t so naive about wind, especially as they discover it changes as climate does, and the windmills aren't on wheels.
;]

Posted by DrAlexC

10th Jan

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Google wind not a threat

No worries about Google wind. Their farm won't be any more profitable than any other wind farm for one reason.

Wind is a highly variable energy input and the grid requires a constant exact electricity. The gearboxes break trying to control the huge input torque and an expensive and inefficient converter is required for taking the variable electricity and turning it into constant output. Gearless are no better, far more expensive and use the anti-environmental neodinium in their magnets.

Subsidies have ruined wind letting the companies be lazy about innovating around this problem.

There is a solution in a mechanical CVT now being proven by NREL -- takes variable input and mechanical changes it to constant output eliminating the conversion units. It will be a while before it is in every wind tower, but it is the solution to making wind viable.

Posted by RockOnMarko

12th Jan

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