Google announced that it would begin investing in offshore wind power, called the Atlantic Wind Connection - a move that displays a deviation from their primary search engine business. Although Google did not disclose how much the project would cost, The New York Times reported an agreement which projected $5 billion.
Google will be joining forces with two companies, Good Energies and Marubeni Corporation, to help finance the project, which is aiming to lay down 350 miles of underwater cables (from Virginia to New Jersey) to transport the energy created from wind farms to cities in the US. It is projected to provide power to 1.9 millions homes. The main company leading the venture is Trans-Elect. Supposedly, Google will be investing in 37.5% equity for the initial development of this Atlantic Wind Connection.
This, however, is not the only move that Google has made in other businesses. Also last week, Google announced that it was testing cars that drove themselves. It's interesting to see Google's vested interest in green technology. I suppose part of it is good PR - being socially responsible is never a bad thing, especially in today's economy. My other feeling is that Google has an extraordinary amount of data centers, and this could ensure that there would always be a power supply to any data centers. Moreover, if you look at where Google is physically located around the world, they have situated themselves near large bodies of water. While these might not be obvious to the average Joe, it makes me think that Google is truly a forward-thinking company that realizes that there will be problems with water scarcity, sources of energy, and other resources.
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