Google to Buy 114 MW of Wind Energy

by | Jul 21, 2010

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Google has signed an agreement to buy 114 megawatts of electricity from wind power generator NextEra Energy Resources, according to a company press release.

The energy is being produced by NextEra’s 150 MW Story II Wind Energy Center in Iowa. According to a report on CNET, the 20-year agreement represents part of Google’s effort to go carbon neutral. According to the Guardian, Google will then use the revenues generated by reselling the electricity to purchase renewable energy credits, with which it will offset its carbon emissions. Bloomberg news reported that the company has agreed to pay NextEra at a predetermined rate for the power, but did not disclose terms.

The Google Energy subsidiary was formed in December last year, and its energy purchase agreement with NextEra represents the company’s first deal. The company plans to resell the electricity on the spot electricity market.

Google said the long-term nature of its contract with NextEra will also provide a solid base of support and confidence from which it can continue to invest in new projects.

NextEra currently has nearly 700 wind turbines in operation in Iowa with a nameplate capacity of more than 1,000 megawatts that are capable of generating enough power to serve more than 250,000 average homes.

Google’s aim is not limited to wind. According to PC World, the company has also invested more than $10 million in geothermal projects as well. It has also said it wants to expand the capabilities of its smart metering software technology to include the ability to track natural gas and water consumption, in addition to electrical demand. And the company recently said it would partner with Integrated Environmental Solutions to provide building performance and analysis tools to users of Google’s SketchUp 3D modeling tool.

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