Google Goes Solar

March 30, 2007 by Kiltak |

Google has always been known to do things differently than most corporations. Apart from giving incredible perks to their employees, they also offer free broadband access to residents of their home town, and now, they power a third of their complex via solar power. ArsTechnica has a great piece today giving all the details on Google’s new 1.6MW solar panel installation.

9,212 Sharp photovoltaic modules now cover the rooftops of the Googleplex, each one capable of pumping out 208W of DC power in full sun. To gain even more solar surface area, Google installed solar panels as “shades” over several of its parking lots, keeping cars cool and generating power at the same time. The installation can generate 30 percent of Google’s peak demand power, or enough to light about 1,000 California homes.

It’s easy being green: Google goes solar