Google, in partnership with investment firm KKR, is making a $94 million investment in four solar energy farms near Sacramento, California.
In a Tuesday blog post, Google noted that it has already committed to outfitting solar panels on the roofs of more than 10,000 home, but this is its first broad-scale investment in the energy grid.
Recurrent Energy, which already has a 20-year deal with the Sacramento Utility District, will be responsible for the construction and operation of the facilities.
"We believe investing in the renewable energy sector makes business sense and hope clean energy projects continue to attract new sources of capital to help the world move towards a more sustainable energy future," wrote Google Treasury assistant treasurer Axel Martinez.
With a capacity of 88 MW, the new farms will be able to power upwards of 13,000 homes.
According to the Wall Street Journal, this deal will also allow Recurrent to quickly fund and build future solar farms.
Google is closing out 2011 with some good PR. The company last week announced that it made an $11.5 million donation to several organizations that combat modern day slavery, which affects more than 27 million men, women, and children worldwide. The money will go toward the creation of a coalition of several advocacy groups, led by International Justice Mission.
These groups will work to improve infrastructure and resources that enforce anti-slavery legislation overseas, promote awareness of the problem domestically, and help push for laws against it in other countries.
Additionally, Google is making donations to more than a dozen organizations this holiday season, for a total of $40 million in grants. Besides its anti-slavery initiative, Google is also supporting groups that promote science, technology, engineering, and math programs; education of girls in developing countries; and programs for empowerment through technology.
Martinez said the solar energy investment Google is announcing today brings the total on Google's clean energy investment portfolio to more than $915 million.