Google adds to big energy spending with new solar projects

Google is investing another $80 million in renewable energy, adding to its billion-dollar-plus portfolio of green power.

The Internet giant, which is the most significant player in the energy business outside of energy companies and financial institutions, will pour the cash into new solar projects in California and Arizona.

The projects will have a total capacity of 106 megawatts and will be developed by Recurrent Energy, which has built other solar facilities for Google.

Google has added hundreds of millions of dollars in spending on clean energy this year alone. It has reported that its investment exceeds $1 billion.

In a deal announced in September, Google said it had made its largest energy investment yet when it bought future production from a 240-megawatt wind farm near Amarillo. The company did not disclose financial details of that deal.

Earlier this year, Google invested $200 million in a 161-megawatt wind farm, also in the Texas Panhandle.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which operates most of the state's grid, says a megawatt can power 500 to 700 Texas homes under normal conditions.

Google previously said its ownership in renewable power generation amounted to more than 2 gigawatts, the equivalent of the Hoover Dam. Recent additions have pushed the stake higher.

The company also has invested in clean energy innovation, with a purchase last year of a startup that makes kitelike flying wind turbines. Google did not disclose the financial terms of that deal.

Google also holds a 37.5 percent equity stake in the Atlantic Wind Connection, an offshore grid project meant to support offshore wind turbines.