Google to Invest in Offshore Wind Power Transmission Grid

Google has announced that it will invest in an offshore Mid-Atlantic electrical transmission backbone running from New Jersey to Virginia that will be able to connect 6,000 megawatts of wind turbines, enough to serve about 1.9 million households, according to the company.

Called the Atlantic Wind Connection (AWC) the backbone will be built around offshore power hubs that will collect the power from multiple offshore wind farms and deliver it through sub-sea cables to the land-based transmission system.

The AWC project is led by an independent transmission company, Trans-Elect, and is financed by Google, Good Energies and Marubeni Corp., with Google investing 37.5% of the equity in this initial development stage.

The Mid-Atlantic region offers a high level offshore wind potential in relatively shallow waters, making it easier to install turbines 10-15 miles offshore, where they can take advantage of stronger winds and are virtually out of sight from land, Google said.

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