Google and Microsoft go green

LONDON, Oct. 23 (UPI) -- Technology giants Google and Microsoft could look to investments in offshore wind farms in Britain as part an effort to go green, energy advisers said.

Investments in offshore wind farms would coordinate with corporate strategies to cut costs and the environmental footprint of their energy consumption, though neither company offered information on future investments, The Financial Times reports.

Both companies are active in so-called green energy technology. John Lynch, who heads the European power division at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, told the Times he "would not be surprised" if information companies invested in wind as a way to cut their greenhouse gas emissions.

London, meanwhile, needs offshore wind power in order to meet its goal of generating around 30 percent of national energy demands with renewable resources. With the British economy limping along in recession, however, revenue for such technology is in short supply.

While analysts said Google and Microsoft would only take a minority stake in offshore wind farms, Charles Anglin of the British Wind Energy Association said companies with big energy bills might foot at least part of the move to go green.

"Companies with a big electricity bill will be looking to get into the business and supply themselves," he said.