Is Google's Investment in Wind Energy Greenwashing

Google’s paltry $39mm investment in a Wind Farm was puzzling as it really seemed to meet no goals.The investment would not lead to any significant advancement in Wind Technology nor was it big enough to lead to large production of Green Energy.Google has been touting its commitment to Green Energy and has even funded some efforts through its philanthropic Google arm.But its efforts till date have been half hearted at best.Given the scale of resources that Google possesses you would have thought that they would have made some dramatic new investment or research by now.However Google’s efforts so far have been mostly in terms of a lot of words without any concrete actions.Google has managed to innovate tremendously in the Technology Industry coming out with new technologies and processes that periodically shake up the Industry.Products like Google Maps,Android and Google Apps have radically changed the shape of the Technology sector.But in Energy,there has been nothing.Its founders have made some personal investments into some startups like Nanosolar but that is nothing different from scores of other rich people.

Google’s pitiful investments in Green Energy sound more like Greenwashing rather than genuine commitment to a world of Clean Energy.Google needs to up the ante in investment and research in Green Energy for its words to match up with actions.

Google to use wind energy to power data centers – Reuters

Google Inc’s energy unit has entered into a deal to buy wind power from NextEra Energy Inc for the next 20 years to power data centers.The deal comes less than three months after the giant Silicon Valley Internet search company invested $38.8 million in two wind farms in North Dakota, developed by NextEra Energy Resources, that generate enough energy to power more than 55,000 homes.Google Energy LLC will begin buying wind power from July 30 from NextEra’s facility in Iowa at a predetermined rate, Urs Hoelzle, Google’s senior vice president of operations, said in a blog on Google’s website.