A BOUT G OOGLEPLEX The Googleplex building is the corporate headquarters of the company Google Inc. Its situated in California in Mountain View, near San Jose. “Googleplex is a blend of two words, “Google” and “complex” and a reference to googolplex, the name given to the large number , or 10 googol. The Googleplex is one of the company's 23 U.S. And Canadian locations, 23 European locations, 14 Asia/Pacific locations, 5 Middle East locations, and 3 Latin American locations.

T HE S OLAR E NERGY S YSTEM Currently the panels will generate 9000 kilowatt-hours but at the end of this year when the final building is connected it will generate 1.6 megawatts of electricity. The solar modules almost entirely cover The Googleplex, they occupy the eight roofs and part of the car park. The solar panels that cover the 4 main buildings are used to power those buildings, the solar panels generate enough power to power roughly 1000 California homes.

H ERE IS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE... Here are the roofs of the Googleplex building Here is the car park partially covered by solar panels

A BOUT THE S OLAR P ANELS AND D ESIGN The Googleplex building uses Sharp solar modules each capable of generating 208 watts. The polycrystalline cells average 12.8 percent module conversion efficiency. Solar panels generate DC currents, this is not usable so it has to convert to AC. To do this Googleplex use a set of utility grade inverters for each system, they have an average of 96 percent efficiency and are made by SatCon Technology Corp. Of Boston. It partnered with EI Solutions, a solar project developer with headquarters in San Rafael, Calif., to do the electrical design work.

I NFORMATION F THE S OLAR P ANEL The Sharp 208 (ND-208U1F) Watt Solar Panel is a poly-crystalline solar module which features 12.8% module efficiency for an outstanding balance of size and weight to power and performance. Using breakthrough technology perfected by Sharp’s 45 years of research and development, these solar panels use a textured cell surface to reduce reflection of sunlight, and BSF (Black Surface Field) structure to improve conversion efficiency. An anti-reflective coating provides a uniform blue-collar and increases the absorption of light. Common applications include office buildings, cabins, solar power stations, solar villages, radio relay stations, beacons, traffic lights and security systems. Ideal for grid-connected systems and designed to withstand rigorous operating conditions, The Sharp ND-208U1F 208 watt solar panels offer maximum power output per square foot of solar array.

S PECIFICATION OF THE S OLAR P ANEL High-power module (208W) using 156mm square multi-crystal silicon solar cells with 12.8% module conversion efficiency. Bypass diode minimizes the power drop cause by shade. Textured cell surface to reduce the reflected sunlight and BSF (Black Surface Field) structure to improve cell conversion efficiency. White tempered glass, EVA resin, and a weatherproof film, plus aluminium frame for extended outdoor use. Nominal 24VDC output, perfect for grid-connected systems. UL Listings: UL 1703, cUL. Sharp modules are manufactured in ISO 9001 certified facilities. Nominal Voltage (V) 24 Peak Power (W) 208 Peak Voltage (Vmp) Peak Current (Imp) 7.3 Open Circuit Voltage (Voc) 36.3 Short Circuit Current (Isc) 7.99

C OSTS OF S OLAR E NERGY Although solar energy is green and healthy to our planet it is expensive, experts estimate that a solar installation costs between US $3 and $5 per watt in California, and between $6 and $10 per watt in the rest of the United States. The average cost of installing large systems in the Bay Area in 2006 was $8.58 per watt before rebates. Solar energy cost around 20 cents per kilowatt hour in 2006 compared to normal grid electricity at 12 to 15 cents per kilowatt hour it is more expensive. Cents

G OOGLEPLEX C OMPARED TO THE W ORLD AND ITS S OLAR S YSTEMS Google's project is the largest corporate installation of solar panels in North America however, even though this is a very substantial instillation of solar panels, it does not come in the top ten largest solar panel instillations in the world. There are a few Japanese and German companies that sit in the top ten as well as a number of roof tops in Spain and the Netherlands. California has nonetheless become the second-fastest-growing solar market in the world mainly driven by activity on corporate roof tops.

G OOGLEPLEX C OMPARED TO THE W ORLD AND ITS S OLAR S YSTEMS Megawatts Google’s solar energy system at Googleplex is big but there are a few companies that propose to go bigger such as these three, Tesco the British-based supermarket chain, says it intends to put up a 2-MW solar installation at an office complex in northern California. In March, Applied Materials of Santa Clara, Calif., announced a plan to install 1.9 MW of solar power on the rooftops of its Sunnyvale, California. Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, intends to outshine all these companies with multipart plans to put more than 5.6 MW's worth of solar panels on the roofs of 22 stores in California and Hawaii.

S OLAR E NERGY C OMPARED TO W IND E NERGY The average wind farm requires 17 acres of land to produce one megawatt of electricity, about enough electricity for 750 to 1,000 homes, this is a lot of land to produce around 1 megawatt. Google’s roof tops will produce more electricity than this and is using the space very wisely, on the top of existing building rather than taking up valuably fields that can be used for grazing and growing crops.

R EFERENCES ARTICLE: SANDRA UPSON. (OCTOBER 2007). IEEE SPECTRUM The Greening of Google, retrieved November 27, 2009, from SOURCES: The Energy Story, retrieved November 27, 2009, from JOHN DUCE. ( September 2009). First Solar to Build World’s Largest Solar Power Plant in China, retrieved November 27, 2009, from