Google Ends 2011 With Almost $1 Billion Clean Energy Investments

Google made a new $94 million investment in a portfolio of four solar photovoltaic (PV) projects being built by Recurrent Energy near Sacramento, California. This brought its portfolio of clean energy investments to more than $915 million. Google has already committed to providing funding this year to help more than 10,000 homeowners install solar PV panels on their rooftops. But this investment represents its first investment in the U.S. in larger scale solar PV power plants that generate energy for the grid—instead of on individual rooftops. These projects have a total capacity of 88 MW, equivalent to the electricity consumed by more than 13,000 homes.Google is investing alongside global investment firm KKR and Recurrent Energy, a leading solar developer. Google will provide a $94 million equity investment and SunTap Energy, a new venture formed today by KKR to invest in solar projects in the U.S., will provide the remaining equity.

The internet giant is joining KKR on their first renewable energy investment in the U.S. with the belief that investing in the renewable energy sector makes business sense and hope clean energy projects continue to attract new sources of capital to help the world move towards a more sustainable energy future.

The energy produced by these projects is already contracted for 20 years with the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD). SMUD recently created a feed-in tariff program (FIT) to help green the grid for Sacramento-area residents.

Its been a busy year at Google. Since January, they’ve invested more than $880 million in clean energy projects. The world needs a wide range of solutions - from wind, to transmission, to solar PV and concentrated solar—and we look forward to new opportunities next year to further expand our portfolio of clean energy investments. And Google is trying to do its bit to contribute to that.

- Rohit Rohan