Green Blog
A better web. Better for the environment.
Towards more renewable energy
11/27/07
Posted by Larry Page, Co-Founder and President of Products
Clean and affordable energy is a growing need for our company, and we’re excited about the opportunity to help create competitive green alternatives.
Our new initiative
isn’t just about Google’s energy needs; we're seeking to accelerate the pace at which clean energy technologies are developing, so they can rival the economics of coal quickly. We've gained expertise in designing and building large-scale, energy-intensive facilities by building data centers that lead the industry in efficiency. We want to apply the same creativity and innovation to the challenge of generating inexpensive renewable electricity at scale.
Promising technologies already exist that could be developed to deliver renewable energy cheaper than coal. We think the time is ripe to build rapidly on the tremendous work on renewable energy. For example, I believe that solar thermal technology provides a very plausible path to generating cheaper electricity. By combining talented technologists, great partners and large investments, we have an opportunity to quickly push this technology forward. 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.
To lead this effort, we're looking for a world-class team. We need creative and motivated entrepreneurs and technologists with expertise in a broad range of areas, including materials science, physics, chemistry, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, land acquisition and management, power transmission and substations, construction, and regulatory issues.
Join us
. And if you're interested, read about
our previous work
toward a clean energy future.
Investing in a cleaner energy revolution
11/27/07
Posted by Gregory Miller, Managing Director, Investments, Google.org
Today Google
launched
a major R&D effort and set a lofty goal of
generating a gigawatt of renewable electricity at a cost below electricity from coal-fired power plants. Google.org will be a partner in this ambitious endeavor by providing funding for companies and projects with promising, scalable and potentially breakthrough energy technologies. Two of the early-stage companies we've begun to work with to drive down the costs of renewable energy are
eSolar Inc.
and
Makani Power
. We're looking for more strategic investments, so please write to us at
renewables@google.com
if you're working on this problem too.
You may recall that last summer we
announced an RFP
(request for investment proposals) as part of our
RechargeIT
aiming to accelerate the adoption of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and vehicle-to-grid technology.
After reviewing more than 350 applications, last week we selected just under 40 companies in categories including batteries, components and vehicle-to-grid solution to advance to the next round of review. Look for us to announce investments in some of these interesting companies during the first quarter of 2008.
Makani kite photo courtesy Makani Power.
Clean technology on the campaign trail
11/14/07
Posted by
Michael Terrell, Team Member, Google.org
Today Senator Barack Obama visited Google as part of our
Candidates@Google
series. Unveiling an
innovation agenda
, the Senator emphasized the need to employ technology and innovation to solve the world's most pressing problems. He called for massive investments in climate-friendly technologies to help end America's addiction to oil and move towards a clean energy future.
Transportation emissions comprise
over 20% of the world's greenhouse gas pollution
. To reduce carbon dioxide emissions and cut oil use,
Google.org
's
RechargeIT
project is advancing plug-in electric vehicle technology. This initiative aims to accelerate commercial adoption of plug-ins by demonstrating the technology, and by making
grants
and
investments
.
After Senator Obama's talk, our own Larry Brilliant, RechargeIT's Lead Engineer Alec Proudfoot, and Project Manager Kirsten Olsen demonstrated vehicles in Google's plug-in
fleet
. The Senator voiced keen interest in the government's role in encouraging widespread use of plug-ins.
A clean energy future requires innovative technology, sound public policy, and changes in how we consume energy. Most of all, it requires leadership. We invite all the 2008 Presidential candidates to visit Google for a test drive.
Update
: You can watch the video of Senator Obama's speech
here
.
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