Over the past quarter, Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) spent $2.25 billion on its data center and accompanying infrastructure. Using the currently available sources of power is costing a pretty penny for the tech powerhouse. So, Google has decided to take their predicament into their own hands by investing in alternative energy sources, with the hope that it will positively affect their bottom line.
While this is not a new trend, it does mark a significant shift in Google’s energy spending. In fact, has already taken part in 15 wind and solar ventures with a total spend of $1 billion. Other Silicon Valley companies are also making clean energy investments, but Google has been a leader by far.
Rick Needham, Google’s director of energy and sustainability recently shared, “We’ve invested over a billion dollars in 15 projects that have the capacity to produce two gigawatts of power around the world, mostly in the U.S., but that’s the equivalent of Hoover’s Dam worth of power generation.”
On Thursday, one of Google’s larger ventures began operations. It is the world’s largest solar thermal project, located in Ivanpah, CA. It has 347,000 mirrors, which face the sun, and will give power to 140,000 homes in California.
There is much debate over the ROI for solar investments, especially when so many solar companies have gone bankrupt within the past several years. However, if there is any company that can make this work, and do it the right way, it is Google.
From Google’s many innovations and acquisitions, it is obvious they are very forward-thinking. They are planning for the future while remaining sensitive to the needs of the environment. How everything pans out will be a sight to see, and may even change the energy outlook of the world.
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