Google Invests a Further $102 Million in Wind Farm Project

Google is announcing that it's investing a further $102 million in a wind farm project it got involved with last month when it provided it with $55 million.

It's the latest big investment in green energy at the company and it indicates not only Google's commitment to a greener future and a cleaner image for the company, but also perhaps in the financial viability of this type of green energy projects.

If you're wondering what Google is doing with all of the cash it's got sitting around, Google has more than $30 billion in liquidities, one simple answer is the string of investments in green energy it's been announcing for the past couple of months.

Google has now invested over $780 million in green energy projects, $700 million of which in the past few months.

"Today, we’re increasing our investment in the Alta Wind Energy Center (AWEC) in Tehachapi, Calif. by providing another $102 million to finance the 168 MW Alta V Project," Rick Needham, Director of Green Business Operations at Google, announced.

"This adds to the $55 million we invested last month for the 102 MW Alta IV project. Citibank is joining us again to invest in Alta V," he added.

"We are particularly excited about AWEC because it will be one of the largest wind energy centers in the world, with over 1 GW of production scheduled to be on line by the end of the year and 1,550 MW when fully completed," he explained.

Apart from being one of the largest wind farm projects, when completed, AWEC is also pioneering several other interesting things.

For one, it will be using the Tehachapi Renewable Transmission Project (TRTP) to transport all of the electricity it will generate, a transmission projects designed specifically for green energy.

The investment is also interesting for Google since it's not purchasing energy from the project, it's actually investing and becoming part-owner of it.

It will then lease the site to the company building and running it, recouping the investment in time and enabling the project to be built, with the money it's providing.

Investments in green energy and green projects in general do wonders for public relations but are rarely worth-while financially.

Google though, while reaping all of the PR benefits from its investments, tries to make it clear, for the peace of mind of its shareholders if nothing else, that all of these recent investments will pay off in the long run.