Mountain View, California — Expanding it foothold in to various technological sphere, Google on Monday said it has chipped in $168 million investment in to the world’s largest solar power energy plant that BrightSource Energy is building in the California’s Mojave Desert. This is the search engine’s largest investment in clean energy to date.
Clean Energy — as the word itself elaborates its nature, it is also known as sustainable, renewable and green energy–includes hydroelectricity, solar energy, wind energy, wave power, geothermal energy, bioenergy and tidal power.
Model rendering of ISEGS, the world’s largest solar power tower being built in California.
The plant, situated on a 3,600 acres of land in the Mojave Desert in southeastern California, the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System (ISEGS) would consist of 173,000 heliostats, each with two mirrors that will redirect the sun’s rays onto a solar tower standing approximately 450 feet (137 m) tall. Besides, the solar receiver generates hot (up to 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit), high-pressure steam, which in turn spins a turbine and generator to make electricity.
Furthermore, BrightSource Energy is developing the plant, which commenced construction in October 2010 and is expected to generate 392 gross megawatts (MW) of clean solar energy when it is completed in 2013, enough to supply power to 85,000 homes a year.
“That is the equivalent of taking more than 90,000 cars off the road over the lifetime of the plant, projected to be more than 25 years,” Google’s director of green business operations Rick Needham said in a blog post.
“The investment makes business sense and will help ensure that one of the world’s largest solar energy projects is completed,” Needham said.
In addition, Brightsource’s Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System, which will also be funded by NRG and with clean energy technology loans from the U.S. Department of Energy, certainly falls in the solar energy category.
Image Caption: Construction at Ivanpah continues to progress. Courtesy of Bright Source.
“We are excited about Ivanpah because our investment will help deploy a compelling solar energy technology that provides reliable clean energy, with the potential to significantly reduce costs on future projects,” Needham explained.
Overall, the U.S. Department of Energy said in a statement that it has sanctioned $1.6 billion in loan guarantees to support the Ivanpah Solar Energy Generating System.
“Today’s announcement is creating over 1,000 jobs in California while paving the foundation for thousands more clean energy jobs across the country in the future,” US Energy Secretary Steven Chu said in a statement.
“Through the loan program we are endorsing some of the largest, most innovative clean energy ventures in the world, and those investments are helping us to out-compete and out-innovate our global competitors to win the future,” Chu said.
Moreover, solar power plant development is currently less advanced than the more common trough systems, they offer higher efficiency and better energy storage capabilities.
Interestingly, President Barack Obama’s administration has been encouraging companies to invest in green growth, calling it a new source of employment and fearing that other nations are stealing the majority of the growth.