Google installs the largest solar power system on one campus

By building the largest solar power system ever installed at a single corporate campus, Google will save more than $393,000 annually in energy costs — or close to $15 million over the 30-year lifespan of its solar system. At this rate, the system will pay for itself in approximately 7.5 years.

Like many of today's high-tech companies, Google requires an enormous amount of electricity to power the computers and servers it uses to run its business. The company wanted to find a way to reduce energy costs at its Mountain View "Googleplex," as well as make a statement in support of clean energy.

EI Solutions is one of California's fastest growing providers of large-scale solar power systems. EI Solutions headquarters are in San Rafael, California. All engineering, project management, finance and administrative functions are based at the company's headquarters. EI Solutions also operates from offices in Pasadena, California, the home of its parent company, Energy Innovations.

EI Solutions closely examined the company's electricity usage patterns, available financial incentives, and the amount of sun received at its Mountain View headquarters.

Because of the nontraditional design of the Google buildings, the EI Solutions team had to take a nontraditional approach to engineering the company's solar power system. To maximize energy output, the team assessed every available surface on the Google campus for its viability to hold solar photovoltaic (PV) cells. Eventually, more than 197,000 square feet on top of existing buildings and new parking lot shade structures (designed especially for the project) were fitted with cells using customized mounting hardware. To help reduce the cost of such a large installation, plus simplify any future maintenance needs, EI Solutions used one type of PV module in all arrays.