Google goes solar
Silicon Valley may soon have to be called “Solar Panel Valley.” Seems that many corporations based there have installed solar panels to help power their operations. Recently, I posted about Microsoft. Today, I’ll review Google’s solar panels.
With a complex in Mountain Valley, California, it only makes sense that Google would switch to solar energy in the Golden State. The recent installation by Google is part of its RE<C program, under which the corporation seeks to develop renewable energy resources for electricity at a cost less than coal. As explained on its web page:
“We’re busy assembling our own internal research and development group and hiring a team of engineers and energy experts tasked with building 1 gigawatt of renewable energy capacity that is cheaper than coal. (That’s enough electricity to power a city the size of San Francisco.) Google’s R&D effort will begin with a significant effort on solar thermal technology, and will also investigate enhanced geothermal systems and other areas.”
At the Googleplex
In 2007, Google constructed 1.6 megawatts of solar panels at its Mountain View campus. At this time, the project represents the largest solar installation on any corporate campus in the United States. More than 9,000 solar panels now cover the roofs of four main buildings of the “Googleplex,” in addition to some outlying buildings, and the parking complex.
Google’s solar panels generate the equivalent amount of electricity required to power about 1,000 homes. In a single 24-hour period, Google’s solar panels produced 9,810 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity. To put that into perspective, that amount of energy is enough for:
- 3,567 loads of laundry
- 20,928 hairdryers for 15 minutes
- 81,750 hours of flat screen TV watching
- 40,875 alarm clocks for 24 hours
Google’s solar panels allow it to offset about 30% of its peak electrical needs at its Mountain View campus. It expects to recoup its investment in about 5 years.
2009 marks the second year of Google’s solar panel installation. It would be great to hear from Google representatives how much they have saved in energy costs since 2007. Like Microsoft, Google is a corporation that people watch. It is particularly important for it to go green, and to so successfully.
The future looks bright for Google and solar energy. Around the time that it installed the solar panels at its Mountain View Googleplex, its director of corporate environmental programs, Robyn Beaver, stated that Google plans to increase its renewable energy consumption to 50 megawatts by 2012. In addition to solar, it will incorporate wind, geothermal and fuel cell power to do the job.
Go Google!
