Google makes a new $94M investment in US solar energy projects

Google has announced that it has made a new $94 million investment in clean solar energy. The investment will go into four different solar projects that Google is having built by Recurrent Energy near Sacramento, California. With the new investment, the total that Google has spent on clean energy so far is $915 million.

The new $94 million investment is the first in the US that Google has made that is designed to create energy for the grid instead of panels mounted on individual rooftops. All together, the four solar projects can create 88MW of power, which is enough electricity to power 13,000 homes. Google invested in the new projects along with investment firm KKR and Recurrent energy.

The remaining money needed to fund the four projects is being provided by SunTap Energy. SunTap is a new venture that was formed by KKR for solar project investments in the US. Google plans to continue investing in clean energy in 2012.