Yes, It’s true. Google has invested $15 million in the wind start up Makani Power. According to Clean Tech

Alameda, Calif.-based Makani won’t release details of its kites, which use wing-shaped membranes to harness wind energy at high altitudes. The company says the elevation allows them to gather 10 times more energy than traditional wind turbines.

This energy investment, joins Google’s similar investment earlier this month. Forbes reported that,

Google.org, the philanthropic arm of search giant Google, announced it would try to help spur companies to reach underground to produce clean electricity. It is investing a total of $10 million in a geothermal energy company called AltaRock Energy and a drilling company called Potter Drilling, and it is funding research and mapping efforts and a policy agenda.

It is part of Google.org’s effort to help bring about renewable energy that is cheaper than coal by investing in companies, research and policy development. The organization is focusing on three main technologies: solar thermal power, which uses the sun’s heat to generate electricity; advanced wind technology; and, now, a way of tapping geothermal energy called enhanced geothermal systems, or EGS.

Energy matters. Google recognizes this. Shouldn’t Oregon?

As we noted here, Oregon’s wind power is showing early economic returns. Now, California is interested in Oregon’s renewable energy. According to the Ashland Daily:

California, whose laws require it to get 20 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2010, has its eyes on Oregon’s growing wind power industry.

“They’re certainly trying to grab it everywhere they can,” said Lee Beyer, chairman of the Oregon Public Utility Commission.

The Los Angeles Department of Water & Power and Pacific Gas & Electric in San Francisco are among those securing long-term contracts for wind power in Oregon and Washington

San Francisco’s PG&E would need 2,400 megawatts of wind to meet the 2010 requirement, if that were the only renewable source. That’s more than the total capacity of Oregon and Washington’s wind farms.

“We’re aggressively adding renewables,” said Jennifer Zerwer of Pacific Gas & Electric. Renewables account for about 12 percent of PG&E’s electricity. “We’re on track” to meet the 2010 goal of 20 percent, she said.

The utility has secured 175 megawatts from the 300-megawatt Klondike III wind farm in Oregon’s Sherman County and the entire output of the 103-megawatt Rattlesnake Road project in Gilliam County. A megawatt, adjusted for wind’s variability, will supply about 300 homes for a year. Prices are rising.

PG&E also has signed a contract to buy 120 megawatts of geothermal energy from a project near central Oregon’s Newberry Crater if it is built.

Iberdrola, Horizon Wind Energy and other wind power developers are scrambling to meet the surge in demand.

“We’re here to sell all over the Western markets,” said Jan Johnson, an Iberdrola spokeswoman. California utilities are “motivated buyers,” she said.

Oregon’s innovation in the field of renewable energy, not only helps secure the future of all Oregonians, but also could turn into a profitable export to other states. Clean, renewable energy is critical. We have the ability to lead in this field. Will we take it?

While still in it’s early stages of development, the Shepherd’s Flat Proejct (located between Ione and Arlington) is already looking to be a huge success for Oregonians, both environmentally and economically.

This innovative project, that is expected to generate 2 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, has apparently led to a significant deal with one of California’s leading energy suppliers, Edison International.

From Reuters:

NEW YORK, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Edison International’s (EIX.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Southern California Edison unit signed a 20-year contract with DCE, an affiliate of Caithness Energy, for up to 909 megawatts of wind power from Oregon, SCE said Monday.

The company did not disclose the terms of the deal and officials of SCE were not to comment.

The project, called Caithness Shepherd’s Flat, will involve the installation of 303 wind turbines across 30 square miles in Gilliam and Morrow counties in north-central Oregon between 2011 and 2012.

Shepherd’s Flat will generate about 2 billion kilowatt-hours per year of renewable energy, which is more than a tenth of SCE’s overall renewable portfolio.

The project will not require additional or upgraded transmission lines, which should lessen the time it takes for the power to reach customers.

n 2007, renewable energy constituted about 16 percent of SCE’s total energy portfolio. The company currently has sufficient contracts in place that, when delivering, will meet or exceed 20 percent or more of customers’ energy needs with renewable energy.

One MW powers about 700 homes in California.

Edison International, of Rosemead, California, owns and operates about 14,000 MW of generating capacity, markets energy commodities in North America, and transmits and distributes electricity to about 4.8 million customers in central and Southern California. (Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by Walter Bagley)

I’m quite confident that this is only beginning for major contracts coming into Oregon for the purchase of clean, renewable energy.

With each contract comes more income for the state’s economy, increased potential for job growth, and most importantly, Oregon secures it’s place as one of the leaders in advancing the development of clean, renewable sources energies.

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