Google Inc. (GOOGL) announced its decision to purchase power from wind turbines installed by NextEra Energy Inc. at the Altamont Pass in the San Francisco Bay Area. These will reinstate the previous equipment, which proved to be perilous to local birds.
The financial terms of the deal remain under wraps as of now. The turbines will be operational in 2016.
Chirp Chirp Chirp!
This decision is powered by an agreement that took place almost five years back. The agreement put an end to a legal battle with environment activists over birds that were being killed by the use of smaller and inefficient equipment.
NexEra is the largest U.S wind-power operator. It has decided to swap the 370 turbines installed almost three decades ago with 24 larger and more efficient ones. These turbines will be installed with 43 megawatts of capacity.
Google on the “Green” Track
Since 2007, Google has been dedicated to being carbon neutral. According to the company, it uses clean energy for its data centers whenever possible. It does this by either purchasing power from the green energy facilities directly or by opening data centers.
With this latest purchase, the company plans to power its Googleplex headquarters in Mountain View with energy from wind turbines. Per this 20-year agreement with NextEra Energy, Google has committed to buy half the output from the windmills on Altamont Pass in eastern Alameda and Contra Costa counties.
According to Google’s website, it currently powers about 35% of its operations with renewable energy.
Apple (AAPL) Not Far Behind
Google’s deal comes on the heels of Apple’s announcement that it has spent $850 million to purchase power. This purchase will help Apple build a 280-megawatt solar farm in Monterey County. It will be used to power its Cupertino headquarters, along with all its stores in California.
Looking Forward
Gary Demasi, Google Director of Global Infrastructure said “the wonderful thing about power purchase agreements for clean energy is that they’re at a fixed price, unlike brown power costs which are going up” in a study by Greenpeace last year.
The same study named Google as the leading Internet giant to make a move into renewable power.
Microsoft (MSFT), Facebook (FB) and Yahoo (YHOO) all seem to be following its lead.
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