Google's Power Play

Source: Technology Digital

Date :30/05/2007 17:18:54

Google is installing the largest solar energy system in the country, and with it, repositioning itself as a utility as well as consumer.

By David Weldon

With over 300 days of sunshine per year on average, Mountain View, California is a very friendly spot indeed for sun-worshipers.

And the great abundance of sunshine to be had is not lost on technology giant Google, Inc., which makes it’s home base in this picturesque community, approximately 35 miles south of San Francisco.

Google’s world headquarters is a sprawling 1-million-square-foot campus off U.S. Rte. 101, nicknamed the Googleplex. It is also the site of the largest solar energy system project in the United States, with 9,200-plus solar panels currently being installed to help power the facility.

Despite its size — reportedly twice the power output of the previous largest installation — this mammoth effort is “a pilot project,” according to Robyn Beavers, who heads Google’s Corporate Environmental Programs team.

“The panels are being installed on seven buildings in Mountain View, plus two parking lots (with overhead canopies),” Beavers says. “When finished (this spring), the project will produce 1.6 megawatts of electricity.”

To put that in context, the Google solar energy system will provide enough electricity to power 1,000 homes. Eventually the company hopes the solar energy system will supply up to 30 percent of the total energy needs for the campus, which serves over 10,000 employees.

Equally important, the new solar system will make Google a true power player in the Bay area. Google will be able to tap the sun during the day and sell surplus power back into the local electric grid at peak daytime hours. It will draw energy back from the local utility as needed in non-daylight hours. And, all-the-while, the company will reap the benefits of energy credits from the tax man.

Indeed, the tax man is a friendly one in California when it comes to solar investments, and Beavers says that is a major attraction for installing the new solar energy system.

“California is a very welcoming environment for solar energy,” Beavers says. “PG&E (the local utility) offers financial rebates, the state government offers incentives, and the federal government offers a 30 percent tax benefit.”

Despite these immediate payoffs, executives that are considering a solar energy system for their company shouldn’t expect an immediate windfall, Beavers cautions. Google has a very firm prediction of 7.5 years before they will see a real profit return on their investment (Beavers would not reveal how much Google is paying for their system, which is being installed by EI Solutions, of Pasadena, Calif.).

That message is echoed by Bruce Curtis, a co-principal of DT Solar, a new solar energy venture that was recently spun-off of the Dome-Tech Group, with funding by media mogul Ted Turner. Based in New Jersey, Curtis says DT Solar has set its sights on the California market for exactly the same reasons identified by Beavers.

Very much East Coast based at the moment, however, DT Solar and Dome-Tech Solar are currently behind the second largest solar power project in the country — the Hall’s Warehouse project in New Jersey, a refrigeration and freezer warehouse storage facility.

“Ours will finish up just a couple of weeks before the Google project,” Curtis says. “It is half running right now, and will produce 1.4 megawatts of power when finished in April.” With possible expansion, Curtis says the Hall’s Warehouse project may eventually be the largest in the country.

Curtis also advises executives against simply putting solar panels on a rooftop hoping to see the monthly energy bill suddenly drop. “Solar on its own isn’t a good investment,” Curtis explains, “Prices need to come down first.”

Because of the capital outlay to install a solar energy system, it is estimated that solar power is approximately three times more expensive in the short term than energy from traditional fossil-fuel sources. Curtis says that savings and returns come from an initial one-time 30 percent installation deduction on federal taxes, long-term energy credits (10 to 15 years at present), and most importantly, from enabling the company to get away from total dependence on current technologies.

For Google’s employees, there appears to be no need to hard sell solar.

“Googlers” as employees refer to themselves, “are very excited about the project,” Beavers says. “We have a very technology-hungry and forward thinking culture,” and the project has generated a lot of interest by employees in solar panels for their own homes.

Buy-in from employees has also been aided by the fact that Google’s project has moved very quickly from planning stage to installation. The original design of this enormous project was done in January, 2006. The project went out to bid in March. By last summer, EI Solutions was given the contract. Purchasing of the panels and related equipment took place immediately, and installation began in the fall of 2006. With the installation expected to be completed by this spring, Google is looking at a 15-month start-to-finish effort.

Landing an installation contract the size of Google’s doesn’t happen by accident. EI got the nod for three reasons, Beavers says: “the cost was right, they aren’t bound to any particular products, and they’re very Googley.” Beavers had to explain the last part, which she says indicates the company is very creative thinkers.

The actual installation of Google’s new system is fairly easy, Beavers says. Since the majority of work is being done on rooftops, it doesn’t disrupt employees. Only when integration work, tying the solar panel system to the existing electrical system, is being done does that work come inside. And even then, the impact “is no worse than any contracting project,” Beavers says.

Fortunately, employees take even that bit of disruption in stride, Beavers says, because they support the initiative, and view it as good corporate citizenship.

This last benefit is actually another reason for considering a solar energy investment, both Curtis and Beavers agree. Alternative energy sources are finally getting close attention nationally, and must play a greater role going forward they both said. It was also a major factor behind the creation of Beaver’s team at Google, which is charged with investigating “green” business strategies and opportunities for the company.

As other companies consider solar energy systems, Beavers advises executives to have a very good communication strategy with both employees and local officials. Employees will be generally very excited by and supportive of a solar energy project, as long as they understand the company’s long term goal and how disruptions in the workplace will be addressed.

Local communities and utility companies will likewise be supportive, Beavers says. The key to a successful project is to “work early on with the permitting agency. Let them know clearly what you want to do. Involve them in the process. This is probably the first time they have been involved with something like this as well.”

Curtis also advises executives to act sooner rather than later, if a solar project is right for their company. He says that alternative energy incentives are being reduced by the government as the market grows.