Green Blog
A better web. Better for the environment.
Getting Data From the Ground To the Cloud
6/29/11
(Cross-posted from the
Google Public Sector Blog
)
Last week, the Google Earth Outreach and Google.org teams, in collaboration with the
Global Canopy Programme
, hosted partners from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for the first gathering of the Community Forest Monitoring Working Group. The goals of the working group are to provide a platform for groups engaged in community forest monitoring activities - across continents - to share knowledge and experience. Equally important is for these groups to provide recommendations for the development of tools, methodologies, and common protocols. For example, the Surui tribe in the Brazilian Amazon is using
modern technology
to implement their community’s Surui Carbon Project.
This effort isn't isolated, as many NGOs and stakeholders support community-based approaches to forest monitoring for their efficiency, cultural relevance, and reliability. Community Forest Monitoring will play a role in the United Nations’ Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) effort which aims to incentivize developing countries to adopt a low-emission path to development. In thinking about best methods for data collection, this working group is tackling a host of data collection issues including usability, security, accountability, cultural relevance, and scalability.
These are all concerns that the team at
Open Data Kit
(ODK), an open source suite of data collection tools, have fleshed out and iterated upon. ODK was born in 2008 as a Google sabbatical project of University of Washington computer science professor Gaetano Borriello. Borriello wanted to take advantage of Google’s data collection tools: maps, visualization, databases and has said that his team saw a gap in mobile data collection. Thus, Borriello’s team developed ODK Build, ODK Collect, and ODK Aggregate, mobile tools that have attracted thousands of users and dozens of active developers.
As ODK iterates and evolves, the Public Sector Engineering team is learning about the challenges and opportunities in mobile data collection and exploring how we can contribute to this space. ODK already
gives users the option
to visualize data in Google Earth and Google Fusion Tables, and we are exploring how to take advantage of some of Google’s other tools (what if photos collected on the ground could be easily posted to Picasa, or videos to YouTube?) It’s our goal to make sure that all meaningful data is effectively organized and made discoverable, accessible and usable.
Ultimately, community forest monitoring represents just one slice of the potential that effective data collection tools create. ODK was initially motivated by the needs of community health workers and has proven flexible enough to be used to track everything from
human rights violations
in the Central African Republic to
water quality in Ghana
. As the nature of scientific research diversifies and the volume of data collected increases, reliable, flexible, and lightweight tools will become more and more crucial.
What’s next? As the engineering teams continue to work on improving mobile data collection tools, this working group will convene policymakers at the next workshop to discuss standards and best practices. “The greatest barrier isn’t a technological one, but the challenge of leveraging this data so that communities can help ensure better governance for their forests,” says Niki Mardas, Head of Strategy and Communications for the Global Canopy Programme and
theredddesk.org
. As with many other public data collection efforts, it will become the job of advocates and analysts to shape meaningful narratives and press for the change the world needs. We're proud to be playing a part in this effort and we're committed to working with our partners to transform data collection from a passive, closed process into an active and empowering one.
Posted by Tanya Keen, Google Earth Outreach and Jenny Ye, Public Sector Engineering Intern
Examining the Impact of Clean Energy Innovation
6/28/11
At Google, we’re committed to using technology to solve one of the greatest challenges we face as a country: building a clean energy future. That’s why we’ve worked hard to be carbon neutral as a company, launched our
renewable energy cheaper than coal
initiative and have
invested
in several clean energy companies and projects around the world.
But what if we knew the value of innovation in clean energy technologies? How much could new technologies contribute to our economic growth, enhance our energy security or reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions? Robust data can help us understand these important questions, and the role innovation in clean energy could play in addressing our future economic, security and climate challenges.
Through Google.org, our energy team set out to answer some of these questions. Using
McKinsey’s Low Carbon Economics Tool
(LCET), we assessed the long-term economic impacts for the U.S. assuming breakthroughs were made in several different clean energy technologies, like wind, geothermal and electric vehicles. McKinsey’s LCET is a neutral, analytic set of interlinked models that estimates the potential economic and technology implications of various policy and technology assumptions.
The analysis is based on a model and includes assumptions and conclusions that Google.org developed, so it isn’t a prediction of the future. We’ve decided to make the analysis and associated data available everywhere because we believe it could provide a new perspective on the economic value of public and private investment in energy innovation. Here are just some of the most compelling findings:
Energy innovation pays off big:
We compared “business as usual” (BAU) to scenarios with breakthroughs in clean energy technologies. On top of those, we layered a series of possible clean energy policies (more details in the
report
). We found that by 2030, when compared to BAU, breakthroughs could help the U.S.:
Grow GDP by over $155 billion/year ($244 billion in our Clean Policy scenario)
Create over 1.1 million new full-time jobs/year (1.9 million with Clean Policy)
Reduce household energy costs by over $942/year ($995 with Clean Policy)
Reduce U.S. oil consumption by over 1.1 billion barrels/year
Reduce U.S. total carbon emissions by 13% in 2030 (21% with Clean Policy)
Speed matters and delay is costly:
Our model found a mere five year delay (2010-2015) in accelerating technology innovation led to $2.3-3.2 trillion in unrealized GDP, an aggregate 1.2-1.4 million net unrealized jobs and 8-28 more gigatons of potential GHG emissions by 2050.
Policy and innovation can enhance each other:
Combining clean energy policies with technological breakthroughs increased the economic, security and pollution benefits for either innovation or policy alone. Take GHG emissions: the model showed that combining policy and innovation led to 59% GHG reductions by 2050 (vs. 2005 levels), while maintaining economic growth.
This analysis assumed that breakthroughs in clean energy happened and that policies were put in place, and then tried to understand the impact. The data here allows us to imagine a world in which the U.S. captures the potential benefits of some clean energy technologies: economic growth, job generation and a reduction in harmful emissions. We haven’t developed the roadmap, and getting there will take the right mix of policies, sustained investment in technological innovation by public and private institutions and mobilization of the private sector’s entrepreneurial energies. We hope this analysis encourages further discussion and debate on these important issues.
Posted by Bill Weihl, Green Energy Czar, and Charles Baron, Google.org, Clean Energy Team
Update: Investing another $102 million in the Alta Wind Energy Center
6/22/11
Today, we’re increasing our investment in the
Alta Wind Energy Center
(AWEC) in Tehachapi, Calif. by providing another $102 million to finance the 168 MW Alta V Project. This adds to the $55 million
we invested last month
for the 102 MW Alta IV project. Citibank is joining us again to invest in Alta V.
We are particularly excited about AWEC because it will be one of the largest wind energy centers in the world, with over 1 GW of production scheduled to be on line by the end of the year and 1,550 MW when fully completed. It’ll deliver that energy using the Tehachapi Renewable Transmission Project (TRTP), one of the first and largest transmission projects developed specifically for clean energy.
My colleague Arielle Bertman on a turbine at AWEC
As we
noted before
, the energy produced at AWEC will be sold to Southern California Edison under a power purchase agreement signed with the developer, Terra-Gen Power, in 2006. So we won’t be purchasing any of the energy produced at Alta V. Rather, we’re investors and will be using the same innovative
leveraged lease
financial structure we used for Alta IV, meaning Google and Citibank will own Alta V and lease it back to Terra-Gen, who will manage and operate both projects under long-term agreements. It’s a financial structure that we hope will encourage new types of investors to consider investing in wind.
With these two projects, we’ve now invested $157 million in 270 MW of clean, wind energy generation at AWEC. That brings our total invested to more than $780 million, with approximately $700 million invested this year alone -- all in projects that not only provide us attractive financial returns but also help to accelerate the deployment of over 1.7 GWs of clean renewable energy.
Posted by Rick Needham, Director of Green Business Operations
Helping homeowners harness the sun
6/14/11
(Cross-posted on the
Official Google Blog
)
Imagine sitting on your patio watching the sun’s rays pass overhead, knowing that they power your home with clean energy—at a cost that’s less that what you would have paid using just the grid. That’s what my colleague, engineer Michael Flaster, has been doing at his home in Menlo Park, Calif. since March of this year. He did it with the help of a company called
SolarCity
, which enables homeowners and businesses to begin using solar energy to power their homes and buildings.
Today, we’re announcing that we’ve investing $280 million to create a fund that will help SolarCity finance more solar installations across the country. This is our largest clean energy project investment to date and brings our total invested in the clean energy sector to more than $680 million. We’ve also launched a partnership to offer SolarCity services to Googlers at a discount.
In SolarCity’s innovative financing model, the company covers installation and maintenance of the system over the life of the lease. You can prepay, or pay nothing upfront after which you make monthly solar lease payments. All told, Michael will save $100 per month on his energy bills this year, and more than $16,000 over his 15 year lease, after factoring in his lease payment and lower energy bills.
We believe the world needs a wide range of clean energy options in the future, each serving different needs. We’ve
already invested
in several large-scale renewable energy projects, so we’re excited that this new partnership with SolarCity helps people power their homes directly with solar energy, too. We think “distributed” renewable energy (generated and used right at home) is a smart way to use
solar photovoltaic (PV)
technology to improve our power system since it helps avoid or alleviate distribution constraints on the traditional electricity grid.
Our investment is a quadruple-win for Google, SolarCity, its new customers and the environment. We continue to look for other renewable energy investments that make business sense and help develop and deploy cleaner sources of energy. Whether harnessing the sun on rooftops like Michael’s or in the
desert sands of the Mojave
, it’s all part of building a clean energy future.
Posted by Rick Needham, Director of Green Business Operations
Energy data access for consumers gaining momentum
6/13/11
(Cross-posted from the
Google Public Policy Blog
)
Studies show
when people have more direct feedback on their electricity consumption, they make simple changes that save them energy and money. Take
Tom Tassi
from Kenosha, Wisconsin, for example. He cut his monthly electric bill from $300 to $85 – more than $2,500 per year – by using a home energy monitor to immediately see what was using the most power in his home and changing fixtures and bulbs. Making better energy information widely available could result in
billions of dollars in savings
by consumers and businesses. It can also provide a foundation for innovation as new technologies and apps are developed to help people manage energy.
With that in mind, last year Google joined more than 45 companies and other organizations in
calling for
consumers to have more ready access to their energy data.
We’re excited to see that momentum continue. This morning the White House
announced
a series of measures aimed at making energy data accessible to consumers. Part of a national effort to modernize the nation’s electricity grid, the plan calls for ensuring people can access their energy data in “consumer-friendly and computer-friendly formats” and includes measures to track progress, assistance to states to implement data access policies, and funds for supporting smart grid innovation.
Today’s announcement comes on the heels of bipartisan
legislation
introduced by Senators Mark Udall and Scott Brown that would ensure consumers can access digital information generated from “smart” electricity meters.
We hope these recent developments will help unlock energy information and ensure that everyone can use that data to save energy and cut their power bills.
Posted by Michael Terrell, Energy Policy Counsel
Leading the charge toward an electric vehicle fleet
6/9/11
Cross-posted on the
Official Google Blog
Over the last few years, several innovative electric vehicle (EV) technologies have emerged in the marketplace and we’ve been working to update our green transportation infrastructure. As a result, we’ve now developed the largest corporate EV charging infrastructure in the country. We’re also including the next generation of plug-in vehicles in Gfleet, our car-sharing program for Googlers.
When Google.org launched the
RechargeIt
initiative in 2007, there were no commercially available plug-in hybrid EVs on the market. So we bought several Toyota Priuses and had them retrofitted with
A123 Hymotion
batteries to create our own mini-fleet of plug-in hybrids to demonstrate the technology. It was the birth of Gfleet, which has since become a valued perk and makes it easier for Googlers to use our biodiesel shuttle system to commute to work by providing green transportation options for people after they arrive at the Googleplex. The new Gfleet will include more than 30 plug-ins, starting with
Chevrolet Volts
and
Nissan LEAFs
, several of which have already arrived and are available for Googlers to use today. We’ll be adding models from other manufacturers as they become available.
To juice up our new cars and provide more charging options for Googlers, we’ve been working with
Coulomb Technologies’
ChargePoint® Network
to continue to expand our EV charging infrastructure. We’ve added 71 new and faster
Level 2 chargers
to the 150 Level 1 chargers we’ve installed over the last few years, bringing our total capacity to more than 200 chargers, with another 250 new ones on the way. The ChargePoint Network provides us the charging data necessary to track and report on the success of our green transportation initiative.
Overall, our goal is to electrify five percent of our parking spaces—all over campus and free of charge (pun intended) to Googlers. Our expanded charging system has already helped several Googlers decide to buy new EVs of their own, and we hope others will, too.
All told, Gfleet and our biodiesel shuttle system result in net annual savings of more than 5,400
tonnes
of CO2. That’s like taking over 2,000 cars off the road, or avoiding 14 million vehicle miles every year! But we’re only one company, so we hope other companies think about how they can incorporate these new technologies into their own infrastructure. By supporting new, green transportation technologies, we’re enabling our employees to be green and doing our part to help spur growth in the industry.
Posted by Rolf Schreiber, Technical Program Manager, Electric Transportation
Practical steps towards a greener, energy-efficient cloud
6/2/11
(Cross-posted from the
European Public Policy Blog
)
Data centers are very important to us—they’re critical to the cloud services we deliver. Over the last 12 years, we’ve put a lot of effort into
minimizing
the amount of energy, water and other resources we use—because it makes financial sense, and because it’s good for the environment too. That work means that today, we use
half the energy
of a typical industry data center.
Last week, we brought together more than 150 industry professionals in Zürich, Switzerland for our
second conference on data center efficiency
. Since our
first conference
two years ago in the U.S., the industry’s come a long way, with large operators now very focused on energy efficiency.
With “free cooling” we can dramatically reduce energy consumption by using the local environment to cool servers, instead of energy-intensive chillers. In our data centers we use both air cooling and evaporative cooling—and we revealed the details of the seawater cooling system we’ve custom-engineered for our new data center in Hamina, Finland.
Google is lucky enough to have the resources and experts to continually improve efficiency. But around
70% of the world’s data centers
are operated by companies that probably don’t.
That’s why we shared
five simple and low-cost steps
that any company, large or small, can use. These include using plastic meat locker curtains to separate hot and cold air, or welding your own air-conditioning chimney out of cheap sheet metal. These techniques are proven to increase energy efficiency, reduce electricity consumption and improve environmental footprint.
We also announced that we’re now participating in the European Commission’s
Code of Conduct for Data Centres
, a framework for designing and operating data centers efficiently. It ties in closely with the way we build and run our facilities, and has a robust checklist of efficiency best practices that are well worth trying out.
The main take-away was that there is no magic in data center efficiency. With the right information and a bit of creativity, anyone can make their computing infrastructure efficient. If you operate a data center or server room, please
visit our website
and make use of the techniques we’ve outlined. Videos of all the presentations from the Summit will be available on the
site
next week.
Posted by Urs Hoelzle, Senior Vice President, Technical Infrastructure
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