Google Going Solar
What is it about Google that makes the company so innovative and forward-thinking? Obviously, the Google mentality has worked -- Google continues to dominate the search space, which is really akin to dominating the Internet, since search is the primary navigation mechanism for the Internet. Vast amounts of cash on hand probably help to free the Google mind as well.
Part of Google's genius is the massive, distributed computing environment they have built out over the years. Google relies on thousands of computers to do the work of indexing, sorting and ranking millions of Internet pages. Because Google has been so good at search for so long, you forget how impressive the service actually is. For instance, results appear almost instantly in your browser. Speed is driven by the distributed environment.
One problem with the scenario: all those computers require an immense amount of power. Google has long recognized the achilles heel in their operating strategy.
But being who they are, Google is investing wisely in alternative energy.
Google's Mountain View, California, headquarters is getting a 1.6-megawatt solar system -- enough to power about 1,000 homes -- that will feed about 30 percent of the complex's power demand. About a third of the 9,000 solar panels Google's installing will take the form of overhanging parking shades at the million-square-foot campus in Mountain View. The others will be mounted on rooftops.
Google, one of the healthiest, fastest growing companies in the world is smart enough to understand that energy costs are not going to retreat in the future. They will continue to rise. And Google will undoubtedly stay ahead of the competition.
