English football team's eco dream as first vegan club

Yahoo – AFP, Maxime MAMET, Aug 14, 2017

Meat is banned and all the cuisine is vegan at the Forest Green Rovers football
club (AFP Photo/GEOFF CADDICK)

Nailsworth (United Kingdom) (AFP) - English football club Forest Green Rovers, run by a former nomad turned renewable energy entrepreneur, are proudly boasting their credentials as a pioneer in environmental sustainability.

As at every football ground in the country, chips, pies and beer are on offer at New Lawn, their 5,000-capacity, eco-friendly ground in Nailsworth, a 6,000-strong town in the picturesque rolling Cotswold Hills of Gloucestershire, southwest England.

But there are no hot dogs -- meat is banned and all the cuisine is vegan. The pitch is kept lush with captured rainwater, the paint contains no chemicals, and 20 percent of the energy comes from solar panels on the roofs of the stands.

There are charging points for electric cars and their lime green and black team strip bears the logo of marine wildlife conservation group Sea Shepherd UK.

Founded in 1889, Rovers were promoted to the professional leagues in May. They opened their campaign in the fourth-tier League Two on August 5.

Despite their name, Forest Green only started going green when Dale Vince took over as chairman in 2010.

A former New Age Traveller, club chairman Dale Vince sees himself more as 

an environmentalist than a businessman (AFP Photo/GEOFF CADDICK)

"We felt we had an opportunity to bring our message to an audience that really weren't exposed to it typically," he told AFP.

"The audience I'm talking about is football fans and the message is around the environment and things that we all need to do to live more sustainably.

"So we thought, this is great, this is not preaching to the choir, let's go in there and talk about food and talk about transport."

Organic pitch

Vince, 53, founded Ecotricity, which claims to be the world's first green electricity company, supplying power from renewable sources.

The former New Age Traveller sees himself more as an environmentalist than a businessman. Vince built his first wind turbine in 1990, when he was still living in a camper van on a hill near the stadium.

Success on the pitch is critical to spreading the eco message, he says.

A former New Age Traveller, club chairman Dale Vince sees himself more as

an environmentalist than a businessman (AFP Photo/GEOFF CADDICK)

"We have an organic pitch. That doesn't mean anything if it's not a great football pitch," he adds.

Vince dreams of moving his club two divisions up to the Championship, one step below the top Premier League, and aims within four years to open an Eco Park with a new stadium designed by Zaha Hadid Architects.

The plans feature what Vince describes as the first stadium made entirely from wood, alongside an incubator for green start-up businesses.

Bees and players benefit

At the club's current site, its passionate groundsman Adam Witchell describes the challenges of managing an entirely organic vegan pitch.

"We can't just use organics. We don't use anything that's derived of an animal," he says, ruling out options such as organic fertilisers made from animal faeces.

"It's healthier for myself, it's healthier for the bees and, fundamentally, it's healthier for the players."

Veganism is not enforced on the players in their private lives but some have 

opted to go vegetarian (AFP Photo/GEOFF CADDICK)

Witchell also has a "more hands-on" approach than usual: he weeds the grass manually.

What goes for the pitch -- mowed by a solar-powered robot -- also goes for the food served to players and spectators.

"I thought, what a fantastic thing to do, to share really good food with a really large audience," chef Em Franklin says, of taking on the club's kitchen.

Franklin describes the vegan diet as "easily accessible" -- proven by increasing food sales at the club -- and one which also benefits the players.

"With regards to getting the nutrients, and especially with athletes, it's not hard to get that amount of protein," she says, preparing a match day dish of chickpea curry.

What do fans say?

Manager Mark Cooper also sees improved results on the pitch, speaking to AFP after Forest Green Rovers were beaten by 1-0 by third-tier visitors Milton Keynes in the League Cup first round on Tuesday.

"In extra time, we looked as fit as a team in the league above us," Cooper said.

While not a vegan himself, he gave up meat six months ago and is positive about his new diet: "I loved a bacon sandwich on a Sunday morning, but not any more!"

Veganism is not enforced on the players in their private lives, away from the club, but, like Cooper, some have opted to go vegetarian.

Some of the fans are less enthusiastic about the choice of food on offer at New Lawn.

"(It) resembles cardboard and chilli sauce," says Paul, of his unfinished vegetable burger. "I'm not against vegan food; I just wish there was a choice."

Fellow diner Martin, however, enjoyed his vegan meal: "It's not my most favourite food but, when you're hungry you have to eat… If it looks good, I will try it."

But the football fans do agree when it comes to beverages, deeming tea with soya milk undrinkable. Beer, they conclude, is a preferable alternative.

SBY Honored, Along With Companies, for Green Growth

Jakarta Globe, Feb 26, 2015

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono when he was still president of Indonesia. (EPA
Photo/Bagus Indahono).

Jakarta. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was among a diverse group of winners of awards for sustainable business practices whose names were announced on Wednesday evening, with the former Indonesian president receiving praise for “his achievements in developing green growth in Indonesia and his commitments to action on climate change globally.”

A Special Award for Leadership in Green Growth and Development was presented to Yudhoyono at the Shangri La Hotel Jakarta, during a ceremony attended by Vice President Jusuf Kalla, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Sofyan Djalil and other ministers, as well as CEOs, heads of international agencies and media.

“Development and growth is something that needs to be planned carefully. It needs to ensure social inclusiveness. It needs to protect the environment, it needs to correspond to climate challenge, it needs to go on for the long term,” Yudhoyono said at the award ceremony.

The 2014 Sustainable Business Awards Indonesia were organized by Global Initiatives in cooperation with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) and the Indonesia Business Council for Sustainable Development.

The organizers said in a press release that cement company Holcim Indonesia emerged the overall winner, but companies such as Bank BNI, Astra International, Bukit Asam, Nestle Indonesia, Bumi Serpong Damai and Unilever also won in various categories.

Tony Gourlay, CEO of Global Initiatives, said in the press release: “For the third year in a row, we are pleased to showcase companies in Indonesia who have embedded sustainability in their corporate mission and whose leadership shares this vision. We encourage other companies to follow their lead and communicate their sustainability efforts more widely.”

The complete list of SBA winners

MAIN AWARDS

Overall Winner: Holcim Indonesia

1. Strategy and vision: Unilever Indonesia

2. Workforce: Holcim Indonesia

3. Community: Astra International

4. Energy management: Holcim Indonesia

5. Water management: Bukit Asam

6. Waste & material productivity: Danone Aqua Group

7. Climate Change: Holcim Indonesia

8. Supply Chain: Nestle Indonesia

9. Land Use, Biodiversity and the Environment: Monsanto Indonesia (Branita Sandini)

10. Business Responsibility and Ethics: Unilever Indonesia

* Environmental Disclosure: Dupont Agriculture Products Indonesia

SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARDS

1. Pioneer in Green Finance in Indonesia: Bank Negara Indonesia

2. Outstanding leadership in sustainable agriculture: Great Giant Pineapple

3. SME placing sustainability at the core of its business: Pulau Nikoi

4. Outstanding Energy Management in the mining sector: Vale Indonesia

5. Outstanding Water Management in the property sector: Bumi Serpong Damai

Special Award for Green Growth & Leadership: Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

Sustainability delivers Unilever €380m in cost savings since 2008

DutchNews.nl, Monday 28 April 2014

Earth 2017 - Sustainable Strategies

Food to detergent group Unilever said on Monday it had 'avoided costs' of €350m since 2008 by reducing raw material usage and introducing water, waste and energy efficiency measures.

In addition, a new packaging technique using plastic injected with gas bubbles had the potential to save 27,000 tonnes of plastic when fully rolled out.

Unilever launched a 'sustainable living plan' three years ago to try to expand sustainability throughout the company.

Agricultural products

'We've learned that sustainability drives business growth and a much deeper connection with our employees and consumers,' Unilever chief executive Paul Polman said in a statement.

The aim of the plan is to halve the 'environmental footprint' of Unilever's products by 2020.

Almost half the agricultural raw materials used by Unilever now come from sustainable sources, compared with 14% in 2010, the company said.

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Going solar with SunPower

Google Blog, Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Just because Earth Day is over doesn’t mean we’re done doing good things for the planet. Yesterday we announced our biggest renewable energy purchase yet: an agreement with our Iowa utility partners to supply our data center facilities there with up to 407 megawatts of wind energy.

Today, we’re taking another step towards a clean energy future with a major new investment. Together with SunPower Corporation we’re creating a new $250 million fund to help finance the purchase of residential rooftop solar systems—making it easier for thousands of households across the U.S. to go solar. Essentially, this is how it works: Using the fund ($100 million from Google and $150 million from SunPower), we buy the solar panel systems. Then we lease them to homeowners at a cost that’s typically lower than their normal electricity bill. So by participating in this program, you don’t just help the environment—you can also save money.

A home sporting SunPower solar panels

SunPower delivers solar to residential, utility and commercial customers and also manufacturers its own solar cells and panels.They’re known for having high-quality, high reliability panels which can generate up to 50 percent more power per unit area, with guaranteed performance and lower degradation over time. That means that you can install fewer solar panels to get the same amount of energy. And SunPower both makes the panels and manages the installation, so the process is seamless.

This is our 16th renewable energy investment and our third residential rooftop solar investment (the others being with Solar City and Clean Power Finance). Overall we’ve invested more than $1 billion in 16 renewable energy projects around the world, and we’re always on the hunt for new opportunities to make more renewable energy available to more people—Earth Day and every day.

Posted by Rob Parker, Renewable energy team

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An Earth Day treat: lots of renewable energy for our Iowa data center :Google

An Earth Day treat: lots of renewable energy for our Iowa data center :Google

Google Green Blog, 4/22/14

Wildlife at the data center

(Google Data Centers)

We’ve been talking to MidAmerican Energy, our energy supplier in Iowa, about renewable energy since we started building our Iowa data center in 2007. Just in time for Earth Day, we now have a freshly inked agreement with MidAmerican Energy to supply our Iowa data center facilities with up to 407 MW of 100% renewable wind energy, as tracked by renewable energy certificates. This agreement will not only cover our current facilities but will allow for future expansion supplied by renewable energy as well.

This is our seventh and largest renewable energy commitment to date, bringing the total amount of renewable energy we’ve contracted for to over one gigawatt (1,000 megawatts).

We’ve entered into a few different kinds of agreements over the years - sometimes signing power purchase agreements (PPAs) with wind farm developers and sometimes working with our local utility partners. This agreement is similar to our 2012 agreement with our Oklahoma utility, the Grand River Dam Authority. In this case, MidAmerican Energy will sell energy to our Iowa data center bundled with and tracked by renewable energy certificates generated by projects that are part of its Wind VIII program.

PPAs and agreements like this one are a big part of the commitment to carbon neutrality we made back in 2007, and we’re working to make this whole process easier for other companies by advocating for renewable energy tariffs. Depending on the circumstances, any of these approaches can make sense, and we’re always on the hunt for new and creative ways to power our operations with renewable energy. But it’s not just our own operations we want to green: Google has also invested over $1B in 15 renewable energy investments around the world in an effort to put more renewable energy on the grid and reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.

We’ll continue working with MidAmerican Energy and all of our utility partners to find diverse ways to deliver clean, renewable energy to our data centers. Happy Earth Day!

Posted by Neha Palmer and Sam Arons, Wind Ninjas

Google buys drone manufacturer Titan Aerospace

Deutsche Welle, 15 April 2014

Google has purchased the company Titan Aerospace, a manufacturer of solar-powered drones. The Silicon Valley tech giant wants to harness drones to bring Internet access to people living in remote locations.

Google announced on Monday that it had acquired Titan Aerospace, placing it in competition with Facebook to expand global Internet access using drone technology.

Google did not say how much the acquisition cost.

Titan Aerospace, based in the US state of New Mexico, is developing solar-powered drones that can run for five years at an altitude of 19,812 meters (65,000 feet). The drones look like gliders and have a wingspan of 50 meters (164 feet). The technology is expected to be ready for commercial operations by 2015.

"It's still early days, but atmospheric satellites could help bring Internet access to millions of people and help solve other problems, including disaster relief and environmental damage like deforestation," a Google spokesman said in a press release.

Facebook was also reportedly interested in acquiring Titan, but opted instead to buy Ascenta, a British company that specializes in solar-powered drones. The acquisition cost $20 million (14 million euros).

Google is also developing Project Loon, which aims to transmit the Internet to remote locations via large, high-altitude balloons. Titan Aerospace will also work on Project Loon, according to Google.

slk/jm (AP, AFP, dpa)

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Richard Branson tells climate deniers to 'get out of the way'

Virgin chief writes on his blog that businesses should follow Apple's example and take a stand against climate scepticism

theguardian.com, Adam Vaughan, Monday 10 March 2014

Richard Branson said businesses should take a stand against climate
scepticism. Photograph: Todd Vansickle/AP

Virgin Group chairman and founder, Sir Richard Branson, has said businesses should "stand up" to climate change deniers and they should "get out of our way".

Branson said he was "enormously impressed" with Apple's chief executive fortelling climate change sceptics to ditch shares in the technology company.

At Apple's annual meeting last month, Tim Cook responded angrily to questions from a rightwing thinktank, the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR), about the profitability of investing in renewable energy, saying: "If you want me to do things only for ROI [return on investment] reasons, you should get out of this stock."

Writing on his blog, Branson said he "wholeheartedly" supported Cook's comments and that every business in the world should emulate Cook's goal of wanting "to leave the world better than we found it", an aim Branson said Virgin shared too.

"The NCPPR stated there is an 'absence of compelling data' on climate change. If 97% of climate scientists agreeing that climate-warming trends over the past century are due to human activities isn't compelling data, I don't know what is," Branson said, referring to a survey last year of thousands of peer-reviewed papers in scientific journals that found 97.1% agreed climate change is man-made.

Branson said that businesses should take a stand against climate scepticism. "More businesses should be following Apple's stance in encouraging more investment in sustainability. While Tim [Cook] told sustainability sceptics to 'get out of our stock', I would urge climate change deniers to get out of our way," he said.

The entrepreneur hosted a summit of Caribbean leaders last month at his home in the British Virgin Islands, brokering a deal to help finance renewable energy projects in the region to reduce the islands' dependence on expensive oil imports.

Global brands link with WWF to form bioplastic alliance

Edie.net, 21 November 2013

Feedstocks such as sugarcane can
be used to make plastics

Big consumer brands such as Nike, Procter & Gamble, Unilever and Coca-Cola and the conservation group WWF have launched the Bioplastic Feedstock Alliance (BFA), which will promote the development of plant-based plastics.

The aim of the BFA will be to guide “the responsible selection and harvesting of feedstocks – such as sugarcane, corn, bulrush and switchgrass – used to make plastics from agricultural materials”.

The organisation, which also includes Ford, Heinz, Nestle and Danone, intends to bring together experts form industry and academia to develop and support “science, collaboration, education and innovation and to help guide the evaluation and sustainable development of bioplastic feedstocks”.

A number of companies across the globe are looking to use plant-based plastics in their products. For example, packaging giant Tetra Pak recently told edie that it was considering a roll-out of bio-based polyethylene in its carton packs across the world if a trial in Brazil is successful. More of its customers demand the product.

The WWF also said that consumers across the world are increasingly looking “for more sustainable products, including those made from plant-based plastics”.

Speaking about the new bioplastic alliance, WWF senior programme office for packaging Erin Simon said: “This alliance will go a long way in ensuring the responsible management of natural resources used to meet the growing demand for bioplastics. 

“Ensuring that our crops are used responsibly to create bioplastics is a critical conservation goal, especially as the global population is expected to grow rapidly through 2050.”

Liz Gyekye

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A solar investment in California’s Imperial Valley: Google

Google Green Blog, 10/10/13

We’re celebrating Halloween early with our “lucky thirteenth” renewable energy investment: a $103 million commitment to Mount Signal Solar, a 265.7 MW solar photovoltaic plant in Imperial County, CA. The project will generate enough energy to power 80,000 homes.

Like many states, California has a goal of increasing the amount of energy procured from renewable sources. The energy from Mount Signal Solar, which has been contracted to San Diego Gas & Electric, will help California meet this goal. The project, which is owned and operated by Silver Ridge Power (formerly AES Solar), will also create over 900 construction jobs in a part of the state that suffers from high unemployment.

Thirteen renewable energy investments in three years! That’s a lot of energy—the over $1 billion we’ve committed to these projects will generate enough electricity each year to power more than 500,000 U.S. homes. Why are we making these investments? It’s simple: we believe in a clean energy future, and we think that companies like ours can help make it happen. We invest in these projects because they make business sense, because they help put more renewable energy on the grid, and because they have a positive impact on the local economies where they operate.

The Mount Signal Solar project in Imperial County, CA

 Posted by Kojo Ako-Asare, Head of Corporate Finance

Bloom Energy Powers eBay's Utah Data Center

Bloom Energy, 26 sep 2013

Bloom Energy Powers eBay's Data Center in South Jordan, Utah - first data center to be powered primarily by fuel cells. To learn more, visit tech.ebay.com.

The Salt Lake City installation includes

30 Bloom Energy Servers arranged in five

racks.

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"2013 - What Now ?" – Jan 6, 2013 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Text version)

“… New ideas are things you never thought of. These ideas will be given to you so you will have answers to the most profound questions that your societies have had since you were born. Inventions will bring clean water to every Human on the planet, cheaply and everywhere. Inventions will give you power, cheaply and everywhere. These ideas will wipe out all of the reasons you now have for pollution, and when you look back on it, you'll go, "This solution was always there. Why didn't we think of that? Why didn't we do this sooner?" Because it wasn't time and you were not ready. You hadn't planted the seeds and you were still battling the old energy, deciding whether you were going to terminate yourselves before 2012. Now you didn't…. and now you didn't.

It's funny, what you ponder about, and what your sociologists consider the "great current problems of mankind", for your new ideas will simply eliminate the very concepts of the questions just as they did in the past. Do you remember? Two hundred years ago, the predictions of sociologists said that you would run out of food, since there wasn't enough land to sustain a greater population. Then you discovered crop rotation and fertilizer. Suddenly, each plot of land could produce many times what it could before. Do you remember the predictions that you would run out of wood to heat your homes? Probably not. That was before electricity. It goes on and on.

So today's puzzles are just as quaint, as you will see. (1)How do you strengthen the power grids of your great nations so that they are not vulnerable to failure or don't require massive infrastructure improvement expenditures? Because cold is coming, and you are going to need more power. (2) What can you do about pollution? (3) What about world overpopulation? Some experts will tell you that a pandemic will be the answer; nature [Gaia] will kill off about one-third of the earth's population. The best minds of the century ponder these puzzles and tell you that you are headed for real problems. You have heard these things all your life.

Let me ask you this. (1) What if you could eliminate the power grid altogether? You can and will. (2) What if pollution-creating sources simply go away, due to new ideas and invention, and the environment starts to self-correct? (3) Overpopulation? You assume that humanity will continue to have children at an exponential rate since they are stupid and can't help themselves. This, dear ones, is a consciousness and education issue, and that is going to change. Imagine a zero growth attribute of many countries - something that will be common. Did you notice that some of your children today are actually starting to ponder if they should have any children at all? What a concept! ….”

Another windy day in Texas: a new power purchase agreement

Google Blog, Tuesday, September 17, 2013   

As part of our quest to power our operations with 100% renewable energy, we’ve agreed to purchase the entire output of the 240 MW Happy Hereford wind farm outside of Amarillo, Texas. This agreement represents our fifth long-term agreement and our largest commitment yet; we’ve now contracted for more than 570 MW of wind energy, which is enough energy to power approximately 170,000 U.S. households.

The Happy Hereford wind farm, which is expected to start producing energy in late 2014, is being developed by Chermac Energy, a small, Native American-owned company based in Oklahoma. The wind farm will provide energy to the Southwest Power Pool (SPP), the regional grid that serves our Mayes County, Okla. data center.

Some (happy) cows on the future site of the wind farm. The cows will still
have plenty of room to graze between the turbines.

The structure of this agreement is similar to our earlier commitments in Iowa and Oklahoma. Due to the current structure of the market, we can’t consume the renewable energy produced by the wind farm directly, but the impact on our overall carbon footprint and the amount of renewable energy on the grid is the same as if we could consume it. After purchasing the renewable energy, we’ll retire the renewable energy credits (RECs) and sell the energy itself to the wholesale market. We’ll apply any additional RECs produced under this agreement to reduce our carbon footprint elsewhere.

This type of power purchase agreement represents one of several ways we’re working to make additional renewable energy available for both our data centers and the communities in which we operate. In Scandinavia, due to the region’s unified power market and grid system, we’re able to purchase wind energy in Sweden and directly consume it at our Hamina, Finland data center. We’re also working with our local utility partners to develop new options. In 2012, we signed an agreement with GRDA, our utility partner in Oklahoma, to green the energy supply to our Oklahoma data center with 48 MW of wind energy from the Canadian Hills Wind Project. Earlier this year, we began working with Duke Energy to develop a new renewable energy tariff (PDF) in North Carolina.

We take a comprehensive approach to acquiring renewable energy for our operations. We’ll continue working directly with utility providers, collaborating with industry regulators and pursuing creative agreements (PDF) like the Happy Hereford PPA.

Posted by Matt Pfile, Senior Manager, Data Center Energy and Location Strategy

Investing in a South African solar project: Google

Google Blog, Thursday, May 30, 2013

As we search for investments that can help speed up the adoption of renewable energy, we’ve been looking beyond the U.S. and Europe to parts of the world where our investments can have an even greater impact. We’ve just closed our first investment in Africa: $12 million USD (103 million Rand) investment in the Jasper Power Project, a 96 megawatt solar photovoltaic plant in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. Upon completion, Jasper will be one of the largest solar installations on the continent, capable of generating enough electricity to power 30,000 South African homes. The project, developed and funded by SolarReserve, Intikon Energy and the Kensani Group, is also backed by Rand Merchant Bank, the Public Investment Corporation, Development Bank of South Africa and the PEACE Humansrus Trust.

View Jasper Power Project in a larger map
The Jasper Power Project is located in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa, near Postmasburg

When we consider investing in a renewable energy project, we focus on two key factors. First, we only pursue investments that we believe make financial sense. South Africa’s strong resources and supportive policies for renewable energy make it an attractive place to invest—which is why it had the highest growth in clean energy investment in the world last year. Second, we look for projects that have transformative potential—that is, projects that will bolster the growth of the renewable energy industry and move the world closer to a clean energy future. The Jasper Power Project is one of those transformative opportunities. To explain why, perhaps some background would be helpful.

Back in 2008, South Africa experienced a severe energy shortage, which resulted in blackouts throughout the country and slowed down economic growth. Since then the South African government has been actively supporting the growth of new sources of electricity to power the nation. While today South Africa is primarily dependent on fossil fuels, there’s lots of potential for renewable energy—it’s a country blessed with abundant wind and solar resources—and the government has set an ambitious goal of generating 18 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy by 2030 (as a comparison, the entire South African grid is currently 44 GW).

To meet this goal, the South African government has established the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Program (REIPPPP). Through the program, renewable energy projects compete on the basis of cost and contribution to the local economy to be awarded a contract with Eskom, South Africa’s state-owned energy utility. Jasper and the other projects being developed through the REIPPPP have the potential to transform the South African energy grid. And given South Africa’s position as an economic powerhouse in Africa, a greener grid in South Africa can set an example for the whole continent. 

 

Once constructed, the project will use solar panels like these.

Just as compelling are the economic and social benefits that the project will bring to the local community. Jasper will create approximately 300 construction and 50 permanent jobs in a region experiencing high rates of unemployment, as well as providing rural development and education programs and setting aside a portion of total project revenues—amounting to approximately $26 million over the life of the project—for enterprise and socio-economic development. We appreciate how forward-thinking the South African government has been in designing the REIPPPP to encourage these kinds of local economic benefits.

Google has committed more than $1 billion to renewable energy investments and we continue to search for new opportunities. Our search has brought us from the U.S. to Europe and now to Africa. We’re excited to see where else it might lead.

Posted by Rick Needham, Director, Energy & Sustainability

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Google's investment helped found Makani
 Power and bankrolled its first experiments

Google has acquired a US company that generates power using turbines mounted on tethered kites or wings.

Makani Power will become part of Google X - the secretive research and development arm of the search giant.

The deal comes as Makani carries out the first fully autonomous flights of robot kites bearing its power-generating propellers.

Google has not said how much it paid to acquire Makani, but it has invested $15m (£9.9m) in the company before now.

In a statement posted to its website, Makani said the deal would "provide Makani with the resources to accelerate our work to make wind energy cost competitive with fossil fuels".

Rather than use fixed turbines to generate power, Makani has been experimenting with "flying wings" adorned with several smaller turbines that act as propellers as the craft takes off.

Makani claims that mounting the turbines on a wing is more efficient as large numbers can be built with fewer materials than traditional tower-based turbines. In addition, the robot wings can land to avoid damage if wind speeds are too high or during bad weather.

It plans to operate the tethered wings in small groups of six with each one anchored at the points of a hexagon. The wings operate between 250m (820ft)and 600m meters above ground.

The firm has just successfully completed tests on a 30 kW prototype to see if its control system lets it launch, hover, generate power and land without human intervention. Fully working models will be larger and, Makani hopes, be able to generate 600 kW. It hopes the cost of the power generated will initially be competitive with off-shore wind farms.

Power is generated by the wing flying in a circular path, with electricity transmitted to the ground via the conducting core of the tether.

Google X is the "big ideas" arm of the search firm that is tasked with testing out ideas outside the normal remit of the larger company. The lab has given rise to Google's self-driving car initiative and did the early work on its augmented spectacles.

Expanding options for companies to buy renewable energy: Google

Google Blog, Friday, April 19, 2013   

We’re always looking for ways to expand the use of renewable energy. To date we’ve committed more than $1 billion to renewable energy project investments, signed agreements to procure wind power near our data centers, and installed solar panels at our corporate headquarters.

It’s also important to work directly with our utility partners to find solutions that will make more renewable energy available for us and for others. The most straightforward way to do this is for utilities to offer a renewable power option for companies that request it—something that’s not currently offered by most utilities. We’ve just published a white paper (PDF) laying out our thoughts on how and why such programs might work.

We’re also announcing our first effort to put this idea into practice. We’re expanding our Lenoir, N.C. data center, and our local electricity provider, Duke Energy, has pledged to develop a new program for large companies like Google who want to buy renewable power for their operations. Duke will file the plan with their state commission within 90 days.

Our Lenoir, N.C. data center

Offering companies like Google a renewable energy option has many advantages. Because the service is made available to a wide range of customers, companies that don’t have the ability or resources to pursue alternative approaches can participate. And by tapping utilities’ strengths in power generation and delivery, it makes it easier for companies to buy renewable energy on a larger scale. Of course, the approach is not without its challenges: utilities will need to work out the mechanics of the service within their local regulatory structure, and in many cases state utility commissions will need to approve the programs. There’s also the challenge of finding cost-effective renewable projects.

We'll continue to find creative ways to supply our facilities with renewable energy, but we think this solution can provide an important new way to increase the use of renewable energy nationwide. We look forward to working with utilities, state utility commissions, companies and other stakeholders to make it a reality.

Posted by Gary Demasi, Director, Global Infrastructure

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