Google grows wind power supply

Google Energy LLC, a subsidiary of internet search company Google Inc., recently informed federal regulators of a long-term power purchase agreement with a 100.8-megawatt wind-powered electric generation project in Oklahoma.

Under the deal, Google agreed to buy all of the energy output from Minco Wind II, LLC's wind project for a term of 20 years.  Minco Wind II is operated by a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources.  As part of the deal, Google can claim that it is powering a data center in Pryor, OK, with power from the wind project.

The Oklahoma PPA nearly doubles the amount of wind capacity under contract by Google.  In 2010, Google Energy entered into a power purchase agreement to buy 114 MW of wind from Garden Wind, LLC.  Garden Wind, also a NextEra subsidiary, owns and operates a 150 MW wind project in Iowa.  Garden Wind sold Google Energy a 76% share of the project's output for a term of 20 years.  In addition, Google indirectly owns a 20.5% interest in Peace Garden Wind, LLC, which owns and operates about 169 MW of wind generation in the central region.

This comes two months after Google announced it was scaling back its program aimed at making renewable energy cost less than coal.  Google's RE