We’ve known that Google is serious about going green and saving energy over at their Mountain View campus with their solar power project, but now we know that they have a much larger “green” plan. A press release posted over at Google.org (Google’s philanthropic arm) explains a new initiative that they’re calling REC<C which stands for “renewable energy is cheaper than coal.” In a nutshell, they plan to help develop renewable sources of energy that will cost less than coal and could be implemented worldwide.
The problems with coal are numerous, and currently, 40% of the world’s electricity is supplied from it. It’s obviously not a renewable source, and more importantly, it produces harmful greenhouse gases that are detrimental to our environment. Google intends to spend tens of millions of dollars on research and invest in renewable energy as part of this initiative. The ultimate goal, as mentioned, is to come up with a solution that’s cheaper than coal so it can be easily adapted. While there are currently alternatives to coal, they’re more expensive.
Larry Page, a Google co-founder talked about the work that has already gone into renewable energy like solar thermal technology. He said that it “provides a very plausible path to providing renewable energy cheaper than coal.” He also said, “With talented technologists, great partners and significant investments, we hope to rapidly push forward. We are optimistic this can be done in years, not decades. If we meet this goal and large-scale renewable deployments are cheaper than coal, the world will have the option to meet a substantial portion of electricity needs from renewable sources and significantly reduce carbon emissions.”
Google’s plans certainly sound ambitious, but if anyone can help push for widespread use of renewable energy, I think it’s Google. They’ve got the money for research and investments, and they’ve got the talent needed to develop a renewable solution that’s cheaper than coal. Sure, people give them a hard time about “being evil” when their motto is “don’t be evil” but I think they deserve to be noticed and admired for this! They’re taking the time, money, and effort to put a focus on renewable energy sources which is something that needs to be done for change to ever occur. Go Google!
Source: Ars
Google being Google.
Yeah, and Yahoo! is finding a cure for cancer. Sure, cheaper energy that wasn’t at all controlled by terrorists would be nice. But it’s not just find an alternative, OK, bam, got it. So far tons of money spent by the government has yet to find any energy sources near as effective as coal, except for nuclear power which produces toxic waste, far worse than any enviornmental damage coal may possibly do.
If Google wants to throw millions into researching this I’m all for it though. When the government does it we are paying through tax dollars, but at least when Google researches it none of the money is coming out of our pocket! Go Google!
Good to see a huge company being concerned about environment and profitability in the same time.
I do hope other tec. companies will follow the example and invest money in cleaning up the dirty planet that they helped to create.
Really, it’s nice to see multiple companies taking on different initiatives. These are things they really don’t have to get involved with but are choosing to do so. I’m all for it whether it’s cancer or renewable energy!
Yeah, you’re right that it can’t hurt, since we’re not paying for it. I’m just very skeptical that this could have any major success.