Google Pushing Renewable Energy
I've written about Google's renewable energy efforts once or twice in the past. And now it sounds like Google is further ramping its commitment to renewable energy research and development.
Google is taking a leadership position on low-cost renewable electricity generation that can scale. Specifically, Google is going to try to produce electricity from renewable sources at rates competitive with current coal-fired electric plants.
Our goal is to build 1 gigawatt of renewable energy capacity that is cheaper than coal. We are optimistic that this can be done within years, not decades. If we succeed, it would likely provide a path to replacing a substantial portion of the world's electricity needs with renewable energy sources.
Google, as they note, has some experience building out energy efficient data centers ... and they clearly have a vested interest in locking down or reducing energy costs. However, Google is a web technology company and not a renewable energy company, so it remains to be seen if they can come close to hitting their rather ambitious goal noted above.
Obviously, this is excellent news regardless of whether the specific goal is met or not. It means that one of America's most innovative companies is now moving with speed and with big money to attack one aspect of our energy problems. Since I have no faith at all in our government to solve difficult problems, it is great to see Google take the reigns. Though I'm skeptical of solar thermal or wind power to scale to meet the level of demand that exists, this is still a big win for fans of RE.
Good luck, Google!
