Thu Nov 15, 2012, 10:17 PM

Google investing in western Iowa wind farm

Source: Omaha World Herald

By Andrew Nelson

DES MOINES — Online giant Google announced Thursday it was investing $75 million into a wind-energy farm under development in Iowa.

The deal is part of an overall plan for more Google investment in the Hawkeye State and in its Council Bluffs data center. Details of the plan will be announced Friday afternoon in a press conference at the Iowa State Capitol.

Council Bluffs is home to one of the eight data centers that power Google's Internet search engines and other services. Bluffs area officials, including Mayor Tom Hanafan and Iowa Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, are expected to attend.

The wind farm is being developed by RPM Access, a West Des Moines-based renewable energy company, near the town of Rippey, about 133 miles northeast of Omaha.

FULL story at link.

Read more: http://www.omaha.com/article/20121115/NEWS/121119770/1685#google-investing-in-western-iowa-wind-farm

13 replies, 1292 views

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13 replies	Author	Time	Post
Google investing in western Iowa wind farm (Original post)	Omaha Steve	Nov 2012	OP
This is very exciting	Samantha	Nov 2012	#1
Great news!! Hope they set a precedent!!	ailsagirl	Nov 2012	#2
This is amazing	oswaldactedalone	Nov 2012	#3
I suppose conservatives will now boycott Google.	drm604	Nov 2012	#4
That's a really funny joke.	MadashellLynn	Nov 2012	#5
Conservatives still use Excite and Yahoo... nt	Comrade_McKenzie	Nov 2012	#7
Did Google Use Fuel Cell Technology When They Built Their	DallasNE	Nov 2012	#6
What are the fuel cells using for fuel?	drm604	Nov 2012	#8
Not Sure Of The Specifics But	DallasNE	Nov 2012	#10
Not necessarily.	drm604	Nov 2012	#11
They Use Hydrogen	DallasNE	Nov 2012	#12
Most industrial hydrogen is obtained from fossil fuels.	drm604	Nov 2012	#13
Kicked and recommended.	Uncle Joe	Nov 2012	#9

Response to Omaha Steve (Original post)

Thu Nov 15, 2012, 10:36 PM

Samantha (5,997 posts)

1. This is very exciting

Thanks for posting.

Sam

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Response to Omaha Steve (Original post)

Thu Nov 15, 2012, 10:36 PM

ailsagirl (9,584 posts)

2. Great news!! Hope they set a precedent!!

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Response to Omaha Steve (Original post)

Thu Nov 15, 2012, 10:47 PM

oswaldactedalone (1,214 posts)

3. This is amazing

I was speaking today to a high school classmate of mine, class of '73, who develops wind farms in Iowa. What a coincidence. I'm calling him tomorrow to learn more about this.

Interestingly, he said that the working environment on wind farm development is being undermined by the Koch Brothers and their cronies in the oil business. Apparently, he's been quite successful in this as he's just purchased a retirement home in Ecuador. Still a really nice and down to earth guy.

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Response to Omaha Steve (Original post)

Thu Nov 15, 2012, 10:50 PM

drm604 (13,962 posts)

4. I suppose conservatives will now boycott Google.

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Response to drm604 (Reply #4)

Thu Nov 15, 2012, 11:06 PM

MadashellLynn (377 posts)

5. That's a really funny joke.

Last edited Thu Nov 15, 2012, 11:07 PM USA/ET - Edit history (1)

Like conservatives ever googled anything. That would almost be like fact checking

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Response to drm604 (Reply #4)

Thu Nov 15, 2012, 11:22 PM

Comrade_McKenzie (2,526 posts)

7. Conservatives still use Excite and Yahoo... nt

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Response to Omaha Steve (Original post)

Thu Nov 15, 2012, 11:19 PM

DallasNE (2,960 posts)

6. Did Google Use Fuel Cell Technology When They Built Their

Council Bluffs data center? First National Bank uses fuel cells in the 40-story tower they built a few years ago so they require little additional electricity. There is more than one way to skin the energy cat.

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Response to DallasNE (Reply #6)

Fri Nov 16, 2012, 03:09 PM

drm604 (13,962 posts)

8. What are the fuel cells using for fuel?

They may not necessarily be carbon neutral.

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Response to drm604 (Reply #8)

Fri Nov 16, 2012, 04:27 PM

DallasNE (2,960 posts)

10. Not Sure Of The Specifics But

Here is a pretty good link on explaining fuel cell technology. It looks pretty clean and safe.

http://www.ask.com/wiki/Fuel_cell?o=3986&qsrc=999

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Response to DallasNE (Reply #10)

Fri Nov 16, 2012, 04:52 PM

drm604 (13,962 posts)

11. Not necessarily.

If they use natural gas or methanol than one of the outputs is CO2 which of course is a greenhouse gas.

If they use hydrogen then you have to ask how the elemental hydrogen was obtained. Obtaining that hydrogen involves either splitting it from fossil fuels, or splitting it from water molecules. Both of those processes require energy. If that energy is gotten from solar or wind, and the hydrogen was split from water, then good. If you burn fossil fuels to make the necessary energy to split the hydrogen then, not so good.

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Response to drm604 (Reply #11)

Fri Nov 16, 2012, 05:34 PM

DallasNE (2,960 posts)

12. They Use Hydrogen

But they don't specify details. About the best I can come up with. http://www.pcworld.com/article/199043/should_fuel_cells_power_your_data_center.html

This covers their technology center but not their nearby 40-story headquarters building that also uses fuel cells for power.

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Response to DallasNE (Reply #12)

Fri Nov 16, 2012, 09:14 PM

drm604 (13,962 posts)

13. Most industrial hydrogen is obtained from fossil fuels.

I think mostly from natural gas. Carbon is release in the process.

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Response to Omaha Steve (Original post)

Fri Nov 16, 2012, 03:11 PM

Uncle Joe (24,997 posts)

9. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Omaha Steve.

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