Search engine company Google will invest nearly $170 million in a huge new solar energy plant in the Mojave Desert, according to a new statement. The money will go to BrightSource Energy and its "Ivanpah" solar electric generating system, which will use solar thermal power to create cheap, clean, and reliable electricity.The new project will use technology based around "power towers," which involve aiming sunlight at receivers on the tops of large towers using special heliostat mirrors. The receivers heat water to produce steam, which turns turbines and generates the electricity. So basically it will direct huge amounts of focused solar energy onto very small areas, which will produce electricity very efficiently.
The Ivanpah project the will be the largest solar energy project of its kind in the world and should be completed by 2013. It represents a major increase in Google "green energy" investment profile, which has been growing since the company was granted status as a public utility last year.
Google got into the cheap, environmentally-friendly energy game in order to power its own humongous dater centers. But now it appears that the tech giant has much bigger plans and may one day become a major player in the clean energy industry.
We say: This is GREAT! Solar energy is undoubtedly part of the overall solution for weaning ourselves off of dirty oil, gas, and coal energy and we hope more companies take similar steps (especially here in Las Vegas!).
Learn some mo': Google Invests in World’s Largest Solar Power Tower Plant
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