Google has ordered the largest corporate solar installation in the world.
According to EI Solutions, the systems integration arm of Energy Innovations, the solar array will have the capacity to provide 1.6 megawatts of power in ideal conditions. That’s enough electricity to power 1,000 average California homes, the company said Monday.
When the project is completed, 9,212 solar panels will cover the rooftops and parking lots in the “Googleplex” in Mountain View, California. According to Reuters, the system will power about a third of Google’s offices.
While Energy Innovations is developing solar concentrators, which use mirrors to concentrate sunlight into solar cells, the Google project will use panels made by Sharp Electronics, a company that made several announcements Tuesday (see Solar Gets Home Financing).
“When the project is completed this spring, Google employees, shareholders, and the community around us will begin to enjoy the environmental as well as economic benefits of clean, renewable energy generated on-site,” David Radcliffe, vice president of real estate at Google, said in a statement.
The project will be significantly larger than the current largest solar array in
California, at FedEx’s
Oakland hub (see
FedEx’s Oakland Hub Goes Solar).
PowerLight Passes Milestone
In another sign of solar energy’s advance, PowerLight said Tuesday it will pass an industry milestone of 100 megawatts of solar power installation and operation this year.
The company said the amount represents the most solar power installed and generated by a single solar integrator.
“As 2006 draws to a close, PowerLight will reach a significant milestone: the deployment of 100 megawatts of solar PV power around the world, and the generation of over 150 million kWh to date by our customers,” Howard Wenger, executive vice president, said in a statement.
“Widespread use of solar power is critical to achieving a sustainable, environmentally safer planet,” he added. “PowerLight continues to be committed to making solar power a mainstream source of the world’s energy supply.” Sixty megawatts of PowerLight’s installations are operating in the United States, with California, New Jersey, and Hawaii leading the market, according to the company.
Contact the writer: JKho@RedHerring.comJKho@RedHerring.comSixty megawatts of PowerLight’s installations are operating in the
“As 2006 draws to a close, PowerLight will reach a significant milestone: the deployment of 100 megawatts of solar PV power around the world, and the generation of over 150 million kWh to date by our customers,” Howard Wenger, executive vice president, said in a statement.
In another sign of solar energy’s advance, PowerLight said Tuesday it will pass an industry milestone of 100 megawatts of solar power installation and operation this year.
Mountain View, CaliforniaCaliforniaGoogle has ordered the largest corporate solar installation in the world.
has ordered the largest corporate solar installation in the world.
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