Google throws offset funding at landfill energy project

Google has taken another step in its mission to become a carbon neutral company by signing a contract to buy carbon offsets from a new landfill gas project near one of its datacentres in South Carolina.

The search giant, which runs a datacentre in Berkeley County, South Carolina, signed an agreement with Berkeley County Water & Sanitation (BCWS), carbon offset specialist Blue Source and local energy provider Santee Cooper to purchase all of the carbon offsets created by the Berkeley Green Power Project from autumn this year through to 2013 - an estimated 200,000 to 300,000 metric tonnes of carbon offsets in total.

Decomposing landfill waste produces methane, a gas 21 times more effective as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. The new project will use special wells to capture the methane, which will then be piped to Santee Cooper's new Berkeley Green Power Generating Station where it will be used to generate an estimated 3MW of electricity.

"Google travels the globe searching for projects that meet its sustainability requirements and I'm proud that a project was found right here in Berkeley County," said Eric Wages, Google’s operations manager at the Berkeley County datacentre.

The search giant said its criteria for renewable energy projects are based on two primary factors: that emission reductions would not have occurred without carbon financing; and that emission reductions can be verified to a recognised standard.

To determine that the Berkeley County project met these requirements, Google conducted thorough research, including site visits, a full review of the p roject's methodology and an assessment of the project's financial model.

The offset deal is the latest in a long line of moves from the search giant designed to make good on its pledge to become a carbon neutral company and establish itself as a major player in the clean tech space.

In the last few months alone, Google has ploughed $38.8m into two North Dakota wind farms and also made a series of high profile investments in geothermal and solar energy firms.