Video 48sec. Google (GOOG) announced today that it has agreed to make its first clean energy project investment in Europe - a EUR3.5M investment in a solar photovoltaic power plant in Germany.
The transaction still requires the formal approval of the German competition authorities and is subject to other customary closing conditions.
The recently completed facility is located near Berlin.
The power plant has a peak capacity of 18.65MW, which puts it among the largest in Germany.
Google agreed to jointly invest in this project with the German private equity company Capital Stage.
"Until the early 1990s, the site was used as a training ground by the Russian military. We're glad it has found a new use," the firm said in a posting on its European Public Policy Blog.
Google said the plant should provide power for 5,000 homes in the area. The investment still needs official approval. It has also invested in wind power projects in the United States.
The announcement came as the German government wrestles with its future nuclear energy policy in the midst of the nuclear catastrophe in Japan.
In the wake of the crisis, Chancellor Angela Merkel announced a three-month moratorium on an earlier pledge to extend the lifetime of Germany's 17 nuclear reactors and temporarily switched off seven pending safety checks.
The sooner Germany can be rid of nuclear power, the better, she said, vowing to accelerate progress towards cleaner forms of energy such as solar power.
Solar Energy is energy from the Sun. This energy drives the climate and weather and supports virtually all life on Earth. Heat and light from the sun, along with solar-based resources such as wind and wave power, hydroelectricity and biomass, account for most of the available flow of renewable energy.
Video 1min 36sec. Monaco -- It's anchors away for what is being heralded as the world's largest solar powered boat.
Solar power is free and there is most certainly no shortage of it. Of late, there's been a constant growth in the call for for alternative and renewable power like solar power. Photovoltaic or solar energy is environmentally friendly and replenishing, unlike the fossil fuels which nearly all utility plants burn to generate electrical power. It isn't going to generate harmful by-products of any sort, so is pollution free. Because it does not release greenhouse gas, it doesn't contribute to climatic change.
When asked about alternative energy or renewable energy, most people think of solar electricity. Generating electricity from the sun is a technology that everyone knows well. Whether it is your pocket calculator, home, or workshop, regardless of your power needs, solar electricity can get the job done.