Googleplex-Solar-PV-How-It-Should-Be-Done

Google Leading The Way To A Sustainable Future

Location:Mountain View, California
System Size:1.6 MW

Energy Output:2,611,719 kWh per year
Savings:$393,000 + annually

Results:CO2 emissions reduced by 3.6 million pounds/year (equivalent to 4.28 million car miles/year)

"At Google, we do things a bit differently. We see a bit of ourselves in the way that EI Solutions solves problems, thinks, and invents."

Robyn Beavers, Corporate Environmental Programs

Background As one of the most recognizable brands on the Internet, Google is on a mission to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful. Like many of today's high-tech companies, Google requires an enormous amount of electricity to power the computers and servers it uses to run its business.

The company wanted to find a way to reduce energy costs at its Mountain View "Googleplex," as well as make a statement in support of clean energy.

The ChallengeUnlike the typical "big box" buildings found on most high-tech campuses, Google headquarters features structures with unique configurations, sharp angles, and other architecturally unusual design elements.

The Smart Solution: Intelligent use of available mounting surfacesBecause of the nontraditional design of the Google buildings, the EI Solutions team had to take a nontraditional approach to engineering the company's solar power system. To maximize energy output, the team assessed every available surface on the Google campus for its viability to hold solar photovoltaic (PV) cells. Eventually, more than 197,000 square feet on top of existing buildings and new parking lot shade structures (designed especially for the project) were fitted with cells using customized mounting hardware.

To help reduce the cost of such a large installation, plus simplify any future maintenance needs, EI Solutions used one type of PV module in all arrays.To further optimize the Google system, EI Solutions also closely examined the company's electricity usage patterns, available financial incentives, and the amount of sun received at its Mountain View headquarters.
The Result, By building the largest solar power system ever installed at a single corporate campus, Google will save more than $393,000 annually in energy costs — or close to $15 million over the 30-year lifespan of its solar system. At this rate, the system will pay for itself in approximately 7.5 years.

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Editor: Andy Mahoney

Googleplex-Goes-Solar

Google Enters the Energy Business

I read on the Google blog that they plan to begin installation of 1.6 megawatts of solar photovoltaic panels (PV panels) at their Head Office in Mountain View, California. They reckon it will be ‘the largest solar installation on any corporate campus in the U.S., and think it’s one of the largest on any corporate site in the world’. But something puzzled me – do they have enough room for all those panels?
Apparently ‘The panels will cover the roofs of the four main buildings of the Googleplex, and also those of two additional buildings across the street. There will also be a portion of this installation on new solar panel support structures in a few parking lots. The amount of electricity that will be generated is equivalent to powering about 2,000 UK or 1,000 average California homes. 'We’ll use that electricity to power several of our Mountain View office facilities, offsetting approximately 30% of our peak electricity consumption at those buildings.’

You can see how much roof space they have available in this photograph I came across (from Google Earth). So I looked into how much space you’d need to generate 1.6 megawatts from solar PV panels. According to one set of calculations I found on a mail order PV panel site ‘Solar Solar’, Google are going to need 919 PV modules generating 185 watts each. This will cover 13,250 square feet or one third of an acre. The campus covers 22 acres, so it would seem that giving up 1.36% of that space in roofing and parking isn’t such a big deal.
For you or I the cost of 919 PV panels would be anything from £0.5 million to £5 million. For some reason prices in the UK are at the higher end. Luckily for Google, the California Energy Commission has a very good rebate system for homes and businesses, particularly if Google use a ‘Grid tie’ system – putting electricity into the grid during the day when the sun’s out (so the meter goes backwards) and drawing it back at night on an off peak or reduced rate. So it seems Google may now technically be entering the energy market. Googlejuice! Googlegreen!
I dare say it won’t be too long before we can see something demonstrating how many greenhouse emissions have been saved by Google’s solar move - like this one at the Hydrogen Fuel Cell Institute.