Google funds major East Coast wind turbine project

Google said today it's invested in a project called the Atlantic Wind Connection, an effort to create a 350-mile power transmission backbone linking wind turbines several miles offshore with sites along the United States East Coast.

The underwater cable, "a superhighway for clean energy" in Google's words, is designed to link multiple offshore wind farms to the U.S. power grid. The wind farms, which are separate from the backbone project, would be located 10 to 15 miles offshore so they would have strong wind and would be invisible from shore. Construction costs of the backbone project are estimated to be $5 billion, according to a story in The New York Times.

The backbone would have the capacity to deliver 6,000 megawatts of power, enough for 1.9 million households, Google said in its Atlantic Wind Connection announcement. Google has been active in many energy projects, for example by sponsoring research, offering home energy-use monitors, and advocating for smart-grid technology.

For more on this story, read Google funds power backbone for major wind farm on CNET News.