The controversial project will more than double electrical output in Ethiopia, where less than two percent of the rural population has access to the grid.
An EcoAd from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 103 is funding an energy efficiency project at the Putnam Avenue Housing Project in Cambridge, Mass.
Residential electrical bills from some local utilities still go to paying off the costs of the project, which remains the largest municipal bond failure in U.S. history.
In his Google blog post, Mr Thrun - professor of computer science and electrical engineering at Stanford University - insisted that safety was the "first priority" in the project.
Newcastle and Gateshead councils, the Railway Heritage Trust, Electrical Contractors Association, Nexus, Go North East and Northern Electric and Gas have all helped to pay for the project.