VNEEP - National progaram on Energy Efficer and Conservation

Google has confirmed it will invest $94m in four large scale solar photovoltaic (PV) projects, edging the total amount invested by the search giant in clean energy projects this year towards $900m.

The company announced yesterday that it had teamed up with investment firm KKR to finance a series of Californian projects planned by solar developer Recurrent Energy.

The four solar PV power plants are expected to provide up to 88MW of capacity and generate up to 160,000,000 kWh during their first year of operation, enough for 13,000 average US homes.

Construction of three of the projects is expected to be completed early next year with the fourth completed later in the year.

The projects are the first to qualify for a feed-in tariff scheme introduced by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) and as such have been guaranteed long term payments for the energy they generate over the next 20 years.

The investment represents a major boost to the US renewable energy sector after Google earlier this year shelved an initiative to try and generate renewable energy at a cost lower than coal power, prompting speculation that the web giant was cooling towards the clean tech sector.

At the time Google insisted the decision was simply designed to refocus its investments on clean energy, and writing on Google's official blog yesterday, Axel Martinez, Assistant Treasurer for Google Treasury, reiterated that the company remained fully committed to accelerating investment in renewable energy.

"Since January, we've invested more than $880 million in clean energy projects," he said. "We believe the world needs a wide range of solutions-from wind, to transmission, to solar PV and concentrated solar-and we look forward to new opportunities next year to further expand our portfolio of clean energy investments."

His comments were echoed by Arno Harris, chief executive of Recurrent Energy, who said the deal provided "a clear demonstration of solar's ability to attract private capital from well-established investors like Google and KKR".
In other industry news, German developer Gehrlicher Solar AG announced yesterday that it has begun construction of its largest solar farm to date, a 34MW solar PV array at Perleberg Airport.

The 87 hectare development at the old Perleberg military airport in Brandenburg is expected to connect to the grid in May next year, cutting emissions by approximately 32,000 tons of CO2 a year.

By Kim Anh