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Google inks a new wind power deal in Texas

The search giant signed a power purchase agreement with Chermac Energy's 240MW Happy Hereford project in Texas.

Google has signed a deal to purchase all the energy from a wind farm in Texas, taking a major step towards a target to power all its operations using renewable energy.

The search giant yesterday announced in a blog posting that it has signed a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) to buy the entire output of the 240MW Happy Hereford wind farm near Amarillo. The financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

The Happy Hereford wind farm is being developed by an Oklahoma based company called Chermac Energy and is set to come online in late 2014. Google said the land would continue to be used for farming once the turbines had been erected. The new deal means Google now has five green PPAs, committing to buy more than 570MW of power from wind farms in Iowa, Oklahoma, Sweden as well as Texas.

Last month, Google said its carbon footprint shrank last year by 32 percent as a result of green PPAs and increased energy efficiency. During the past year, it has also made a series of investments in renewable energy projects, including $12 million in a 94MW solar array in South Africa in May, and $200 million in a 161MW wind farm in Texas.

In related news, wind turbine manufacturer REpower has signed four new contracts for wind farms in the U.K. to deliver 58MW of capacity. REpower, a subsidiary of China's Suzlon Group, said it would be supplying turbines for Clashindarroch wind farm in Aberdeenshire, Scotland; Eye Airfield wind farm in Suffolk; Hampole in Yorkshire and Westnewton located in Cumbria.

Image of wind turbine by kojihirano via Shutterstock

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