Google Invests $168 Million in Solar Energy Project

Google has announced that it has invested $168 million towards the completion of a new solar energy plant in Nevada, US. When finished, it will be the largest "power tower" solar plant in the world and the investment is Google's largest in green technology to date.

"We’ve invested $168 million in an exciting new solar energy power plant being developed by BrightSource Energy in the Mojave Desert in California. Brightsource’s Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System (ISEGS) will generate 392 gross MW of clean, solar energy," Rick Needham, Director of Green Business Operations at Google, announced.

"That’s the equivalent of taking more than 90,000 cars off the road over the lifetime of the plant, projected to be more than 25 years. The investment makes business sense and will help ensure that one of the world’s largest solar energy projects is completed," he added.

The Ivanpah project is interesting since it's not a regular type of solar energy plant, which uses photovoltaic cells to generate electricity, but rather relies on the heat generated by the sun to boil water and use the steam to power a generator.

When completed, it will have 173,000 heliostats which will direct the sunlight towards three central towers. The concentrated energy will be enough to heat up steam to large temperatures and pressures making the system efficient at scale.

BrightSource Energy is behind the project, a company in which Google has already invest through its non-profit arm, Google.org. Now though, Google's Green Business Operations, which is part of the main company, is providing the funds.

These funds will be used only for the construction part and are not a direct investment in the company itself.

Google has made a string of investments in renewable and green energy projects, totaling $250 million, though this last one is the biggest. Last year the company invested in both a wind farm project as well as an off-shore wind turbine project.