Google invests $168 million in solar power project

Internet search giant Google has made an investment of $168 million in a solar power project in northeastern San Bernardino County with the federal Department of Energy finalising a $1.6 billion loan guarantee, according to the company building the project.

With this, the Oakland-based Brightsource Energy has raised all the money needed to set up first its first utility-scale solar power plant, construction on which is under way on 3,500 acres of federal land.

"This is our largest investment to date," Rick Needham, Google's director of green business operations, wrote on the official Google Blog. "We're excited about Ivanpah because our investment will help deploy a compelling solar energy technology that provides reliable clean energy, with the potential to significantly reduce costs on future projects."

The Ivanpah solar plant won't user solar panels to turn sunlight directly into electricity, rather it will use 173,000 mirrors to reflect sunlight onto three central towers, which will raise steam from the concentrated light that will heat the water. The steam will then turn power turbines.

"We hope that investing in Ivanpah spurs continued development and deployment of this promising technology while encouraging other companies to make similar investments in renewable energy," Needham wrote.

Besides Google, the project's other major backers are Brightsource and NRG Solar LLC.