Google has made its first renewable energy investment in Africa – a 94MW solar PV facility.
The Jasper Power Project is located in the Northern Cape province of South Africa and when completed, will be one of the largest solar installations on the continent.
Google says South Africa’s strong solar resources and supportive policies for renewable energy make it an attractive place to invest.
To be constructed by a consortium including SolarReserve, the facility will generate enough electricity to power 30,000 South African homes and will create approximately 600 construction jobs and 100 permanent operational jobs .
Combined with SolarReserve’s other two 75 megawatt projects; the Letsatsi and Lesedi PV plants, SolarReserve has 238 MW of solar projects in South Africa, accounting for a 20 percent share of the nation’s solar power market.
The Jasper Power Project is being developed as part of the South African government’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Program (REIPPPP).
Other renewable energy projects Google has invested in include:
– the Makani Airborne Wind Turbine
– Alta Wind Energy Center
– a solar farm in Germany
– the Atlantic Wind Connection
– a 114 megawatt wind farm in Iowa
– a USD$280 million fund to finance residential solar power installations.
– $75 million in Clean Power Finance
– $168 million in Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System
– $100 million investment in the Shepherds Flat Wind Farm in Oregon
– $38.8 million stake in two wind farms in North Dakota
– $94 million in a portfolio of four solar farms in California
The total nameplate capacity of all Google’s renewable energy project investments is over 2 GW. The company has now committed over $1 billion to wind and solar energy and is striving to power its own operations with 100% renewable energy.
