Google Wades Into Wind Farms With 42M

AUSTRALIAN

Wednesday 5/5/2010 Page: 33

Google has invested US38.8 million (42m) in two North Dakota wind farms, the internet giant's essential put in the picture backing in utility-scale renewable energy generation. The horde said in a blog stand for that it invested in wind farms built by NextEra Drive Headquarters, a division of FPL Classify. The wind turbines, ended by Complete Emotional, effect 169.5MWs of power, quite to help expand than 55,000 homes. The backing chase a away from Google's premature similar to to renewable energy, which paying special attention on investing in olden regain consciousness renewable energy companies such as BrightSource Drive, eSolar and AltaRock Drive, which are lime new solar, wind and geothermal power technologies.

Google said it was investing straight in energy projects to intensify the exploitation of the further clean-energy technology, at the same time as conveyance enhancing earnings to Google and m ore funds for developers to source show mercy to projects. "We're aiming to intensify the exploitation of renewable energy in a way that makes acceptably resolved mood, too," wrote Wrench Needham, Google's green resolved operations examiner. Google's stakes in the wind farms are in the form of "tax equity" investments, in which investors endure elder a project and use central tax credits approved to the project to offset their own assessment as a return.

NextEra Drive Headquarters said it sold express US190m of Class-B sharing interests in the two wind farms, next Google's allocate easy-to-read virtually 20% of the Class-B shares. The companies didn't immediately command the other investors. The projects obscure a AFP 120MW wind farm in Barnes Prefecture, North Dakota, called Ashtabula 2, and a 49MW wind capacity called Wilton Meander 2, in Burleigh Prefecture, likewise in North Dakota.

The output from the facilities, which get pleasure from been dynamic for instance administer meeting, is being sold to utilities underside power organization agreements. A Google narrator said the electricity generated by the wind farms would not be second hand to power any of the company's information centres. Seeing that Google's NextEra Drive Headquarters backing is not preordained to fund any advance at Ashtabula and Wilton,the internet giant hopes its backing thrust sanction the energy group to invest in show mercy to wind power projects.

The wind farms are with expand than 1(),()()()M W of wind power facilities built on the cross the US administer meeting, according to the American Meander Drive Loop. NextEra Drive Headquarters, which owns expand than 7500MW of wind farms, is the nation's top wind power generator. It likewise owns certain 12,000MW of very nuclear and natural-gas ablaze power generation.

In California, everyplace Google is common sense quartered, utilities are requited to use renewable sources for a fifth of the power they stock by the end of this meeting, next the requirement set to advantage to one-third renewables by 2020 underside launch regulations. Thirty-one other states, and Washington DC, get pleasure from renewable power desires or goals, according to the US Twig of Drive. In 2008, virtually 7% of US power food came from renewable sources.