Google Inc. and renewable energy developer EDF Renewable Energy today
announced that Google has made an approximately $200 million equity
investment in the Spinning Spur Wind Project, a 161 megawatt facility
located in Oldham County, Texas.
The project was built by EDF Renewable
Energy, a subsidiary of EDF Energies Nouvelles, who remains an owner and
manager in the project, bringing its operational and management
expertise in over 50 other renewable energy projects to the partnership.
161 MW Spinning Spur Wind Project in Texas (Photo: Business Wire)
"We're proud to be part of a project that provides the Lone Star state
with a new source of low-cost, renewable energy and supports the state's
thriving wind industry," said Kojo Ako-Asare, Senior Manager, Google
Corporate Finance. "This investment reflects Google's ongoing commitment
to clean energy and our belief that corporations can be an important new
source of capital for this sector."
"EDF Renewable Energy is pleased to engage with an innovative company
like Google on this equity financing," said Jim Peters, Vice President
of Project Finance. "The partnership between our companies reflects a
departure from sourcing investment capital from traditional financial
institutions for our renewable energy projects. This transaction
provides an opportunity for a leading renewable energy developer to join
forces with a leading technology company to create value for both our
companies and our respective customers."
Construction of the Spinning Spur wind energy project commenced in
February and achieved commercial operation in late December. The
Spinning Spur project consists of 70 Siemens 2.3 MW turbines. The
facility has the capacity to generate enough clean energy to power
approximately 60,000 average U.S. homes, and the energy it produces has
been contracted to SPS, a utility that primarily serves Texas and New
Mexico.
Spinning Spur joins 10 other renewable energy investments Google has
made since 2010, which together can produce 2GW of power.
