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Google Investing $75M In Iowa Wind Farm

MOUNTAIN VIEW (CBS/AP) -- Google is investing $75 million in an Iowa wind farm as part of its effort to encourage development of cleaner energy sources.

The deal announced Thursday gives Google Inc. a stake in the Rippey Wind Farm in Greene County, Iowa. RPM Access LLC is the primary owner.

The wind farm is located about 130 miles northeast of Council Bluffs, Iowa, which is home to one the eight data centers that power Google's Internet search engine and other services.

The Iowa data center won't be getting power from the wind farm.

The high electricity demand of Google's massive data centers is one of the reasons the company backs energy projects that cause less pollution than traditional power plants.

Google's investments in renewable energy now exceed $990 million.

(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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