Google and MidAmerican Energy have entered into a renewable energy agreement.
Gary Demasi, Director of Global Infrastructure for Google, says under the agreement MidAmerican Energy will deliver renewable energy to Google bundled with and tracked by renewable energy certificates.
Demasi says Google has been talking about ways to green their energy supply since 2007.
He says the renewable energy will be used to operate Google’s Council Bluffs data center.
Demasi says using renewable energy just makes good business sense.
"A lot of different kinds of electricity have a fuel component, whether it be natural gas or coal or whatever, which fluctuates over time. This creates some uncertainty in your electricity costs over time. One of the great things about renewable energy is the fuel source is essentially free. Once you build a generation plant, you don’t see the same kind of volatility in your price.”
Demasi says Google’s agreement with MidAmerican Energy will provide renewable energy for its current operations in Council Bluffs.
Since the contract is for up to 407 megawatts of capacity, it will also provide additional renewable energy as Google grows.