Google to House Largest U.S. Corporate Solar Installation

GreenBiz

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Oct. 17, 2006 - Google will house the largest corporate solar installation in the U.S., according to EI Solutions, the company installing the system.

EI Solutions, the systems integration arm of Energy Innovations, Inc., says it will begin constructing a solar electricity system for Google's Mountain View, California, headquarters campus. With a total capacity of 1.6 megawatts -- enough to supply 1,000 average California homes -- the Google system will be the largest solar installation on any corporate campus in the U.S. and one of the largest on any corporate site in the world.

The project will involve 9,212 solar panels provided by Sharp Electronics. A majority will be placed on the rooftops of some of the buildings in the Googleplex and others will provide shaded parking as part of newly constructed solar panel support structures on existing Google parking lots. The solar energy will be used to power several of Google's Mountain View office facilities.

"When the project is completed this spring, Google employees, shareholders and the community around us will begin to enjoy the environmental as well as economic benefits of clean, renewable energy generated on-site," says David Radcliffe, vice president of real estate at Google.

A three-dimensional representation of how the project may look once completed can be viewed online at www.eispv.com.