Google and Solar Power

Yesterday, I came across an article about Google planning to intsall the largest corporate solar project.

Here is a summary:

9,200 solar panels will be placed on six buildings at its Mountain View headquarters by next spring

this will produce up to 1.6 megawatts of electricity - enough to supply 30 percent of the campus' electricity on a hot summer day

a company spokesman said that concern about the environment as well as the rising price of electricity motivated the company to go solar

company spokesman also made the comment: "'If we can dispel the myth along the way that you can't be green and profitable at the same time, that's another benefit.'

The company has also installed motion sensors in rooms to turn lights on and off; serves only organic foods in its cafeterias and provides a commuter shuttle that removes hundreds of cars from the road each day

I applaud this move and think this is great. I believe Google is doing this to help the enviroment and of course, the perception that they are doing something on this front never hurts. The article ends on an intersting note:

"Radcliffe declined to say how much the solar installation would cost, but added that the energy would pay for itself after 10 years"

I am glad they are doing this but a 10 year pay-back period suggests to me this is more about doing the right thing than the economical thing.