Will the search giant operate the largest office complex in the US powered by solar energy? "We seek to dispel the myth that a profitable company cannot be green," said David Radcliffe, vice president of real estate at Google.
Google is planning a solar power system for its headquarters in Silicon Valley. According to the company, it will be the largest office complex in the US powered by solar energy. The search giant said last week that it will begin erecting a system of solar collectors on the roof of the building in Mountain View, California and above the open parking lots, which will allow the production of 1.6 megawatts of electricity - a thousand times the consumption of an average residence in California.
"This will be the largest privately owned, utility-scale solar power generation system," said Noah Kay, director of public relations for the Solar Energy Association in Washington. Google executives said that the company will produce electricity from solar energy for the consumption of about a third of its employees in the office building. The electricity consumption of the data centers operated by the company around the world was not included in the calculation. "We will generate about 30% of the electricity we consume ourselves," said David Radcliffe, vice president of real estate at Google, "and at this point it is electricity for our main offices.
Radcliffe declined to comment on the cost of the project, or say whether the investment in the solar equipment will pay off in the long run. "We seek to dispel the myth that a profitable company cannot be green," Radcliffe said. However, although the transition to alternative energy has a declarative importance, the project will produce only a fraction of the total energy consumed by society. This is because the rule of thumb in the electrical industry is that data warehouses consume ten times more electricity than office workers.
The project will be managed by the consulting arm of Energy Innovations, a company supported by the venture capital fund Idealabs and which has already established 12 similar large-scale projects throughout California. The solar collectors are made by a subsidiary of the electronics manufacturer Sharp.
5 תגובות
I don't understand why in Israel no one is developing solar energy, are the government and the electric company the ones who oppose it?
Answer to Shahar C:
Is jealousy eating you?
The very fact that they think and do is important.
The future in solar energy period.
It's a publicity lip service.
Google is known for running thousands of small computers that collectively consume far more power per processor unit than other methods. When Gartner starts talking about the importance of environmental quality in the IT world, then Google simply advances a solar remedy for an expected blow.
With all the billions they pour into video sites and the billions more that are on the side and will come they can do much, much more than that.
It is important to note that Intel is now building in Haifa the first green building in Israel that will use natural light for lighting and rainwater for irrigation
Well done, yes they will!