Google has made its first investment in wind power, ponying up $38.8 million for two wind farms in North Dakota.

 

The two farms generate 169.5 MW of power, enough to power more than 55,000 homes, use existing transmission capacity to deliver clean energy to the region, reducing the use of fossil fuels, Google said.

 

The investment comes directly from the parent firm, Google Inc., rather than its philanthropic arm Google.org, which has put cash into alternative energy startups eSolar and AltaRock.

 

Google said the company had been looking for investments in utility-scale renewable energy projects “that can accelerate the deployment of the latest clean energy technology while providing attractive returns to Google and more capital for developers to build additional projects.”

 

The farms, built by NextEra Energy Resources, use advanced turbine technology and control systems to provide one of the lowest-cost sources of renewable energy to the local grid. 

 

The control systems allow for remote 24/7 monitoring and operation to ensure maximum turbine up-time.

 

Google’s green business operations manager, Rick Needham, said the company hoped to invest in other renewable energy projects.