Google Throws $38.8 Million To The Wind

Google's checkbook is wide open this week. Not only did it buy 3D interface startup BumpTop, and invest in mobile payments company Corduro, but it also just put $38.8 million into a wind farm in North Dakota. The $190 million project is being put together by NextEra Energy Resources, will produce 170 megawatts of power (enough for 55,000 homes), and will be called Peace Garden Wind. Cue the Zen meditation harp. When it comes to renewable energy investments, Google uses a lot of solar energy itself, and has invested in startups such as AltaRock (geothermal), eSolar, and Makani Power (high-altitude wind). But this is the first time it has ever invested in an energy project rather than in a company.