Google To Help Build Huge Wind Farm off the Mid-Atlantic Coast
Google signed a deal last night that has them investing in the development of a backbone transmission project off the Mid-Atlantic coast that is basically an offshore wind development. Google is on the hook for 37.5% of the equity in the initial development stage of this project. When built out, the Atlantic Wind Connection (AWC) backbone will stretch 350 miles off the coast from New Jersey to Virginia and will be able to connect 6,000MW of offshore wind turbines. Thats equivalent to 60% of the wind energy that was installed in the entire country last year and enough to serve approximately 1.9 million households. It looks like Google is still on track for slowly taking over the world without anyone noticing!
The Mid-Atlantic region is ideally suited for offshore wind. It offers more than 60,000 MW of offshore wind potential in relatively shallow waters that extend miles out to sea. These shallow waters make it easier to install turbines 10-15 miles offshore, meaning wind projects can take advantage of stronger winds and are virtually out-of-sight from land. With few other renewable energy options ideally suited for the Atlantic coast, the AWC backbone helps states meet their renewable energy goals and standards (PDF) by enabling a local offshore wind industry to deploy thousands of megawatts of clean, cost-effective wind energy.
Comments are closed.