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Google worried about global warming?
Google to build largest solar-powered office in the U.S.
mongabay.com
October 17, 2006





Google said it plans to build a solar-powered electricity system at its Silicon Valley headquarters that will be the largest solar installation on any corporate campus in the United States.

"Soon we plan to begin installation of 1.6 megawatts of solar photovoltaic panels at our Mountain View campus," read the corporate Google blog. "This project will be the largest solar installation on any corporate campus in the U.S., and we think it's one of the largest on any corporate site in the world."

Google worried about global warming?

The web search firm says it will generate enough electricity to power about 1,000 average California homes using parking lot and root-top solar panels. Google says the solar power will offset roughly 30% of its peak electricity consumption at the buildings where the panels are installed.

Reuters reports that Google's key rival Microsoft broke ground on a 2,288-panel solar system at its research site in Mountain View that will produce 480 kilowatts at peak capacity.

Google's foray into solar energy may extend into other forms of renewable energy in the future. The firm's philanthropic arm, Google.org, is expected to finance innovation in the energy section, while Google's co-founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, were earlier investors in Tesla Motors, a Silicon Valley start-up automaker building a mass-market electric sports car.

Google says the new solar installation will help save money and the environment.

"We believe this project demonstrates that a large investment in renewable energy can be profitable," said the official Google blog. "If the business community continues to increase investments and focus on energy efficient and renewable power generation technologies, we have a good feeling that our future will be bright."

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