Google Invests $94 million (€71.88) in Solar Projects in the US

Google wants to redefine its position as a top eco-conscious company and has decided to end this year with a new significant investment in the sector of renewables.

This time, Google plans to back four solar photovoltaic (PV) projects developed by Recurrent Energy near Sacramento, California, according to its official blog.

Once this goal is accomplished, the company will be able to brag about backing the alternative sources of power with up to $915 million (€699 million).

2011 has definitely been a year dedicated to sustainability goals, since the giant enterprise has succeeded in helping 10,000 homeowners install solar PV panels on their rooftops.

Nevertheless, the newly-announced objective tops every other initiative of this kind, since it marks the first funding scheme provided for PV power plants located in the US, meant to offer clean green energy to the entire grid, not just to individual homeowners.

Individual project are a good way of changing mentalities and boosting the popularity of solar arrays, but nothing compares to the advantages of a project involving renewables, implemented on a large scale.

All in all, Google is not working on its own. It has established a partnership with KKR and Recurrent Energy, an important solar developer.

The main goal is to fund projects displaying a total capacity of 88 MW, efficient enough to supply 13,000 average homes with eco-friendly energy coming from the sun.

Google is willing to put $94 million on the table and KKR has to come up with the rest.

The good news is that the power offered by these four new projects is already contracted for two decades with the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD).

Apparently, SMUD is eager to take advantage of this opportunity and make the Sacramento energy grid more eco-conscious.

Google representatives hope similar strategies will be developed in the near future, since alternative sources of power are an important element for a sustainable, carbon-free future.

“We’ve had a busy year at Google. Since January, we’ve invested more than $880 million (€672 million) in clean energy projects. We believe the world needs a wide range of solutions—from wind, to transmission, to solar PV and concentrated solar,” stated officials from the company.