Google (GOOG) launches RE < C, funding clean power

RE < C (Renewable Energy Cheaper Than Coal)

Clean and affordable energy is a growing need for our company, so we’re excited about launching RE < C, a strategic initiative whose mission is to develop electricity from renewable sources cheaper than electricity produced from coal. Initially, this project to create renewable energy cheaper than coal will focus on advanced solar thermal power, wind power technologies, and enhanced geothermal systems – but we’ll explore other potential breakthrough technologies too.

We’re busy assembling our own internal research and development group and hiring a team of engineers and energy experts tasked with building 1 gigawatt of renewable energy capacity that is cheaper than coal. (That’s enough electricity to power a city the size of San Francisco.) Google’s R&D effort will begin with a significant effort on solar thermal technology, and will also investigate enhanced geothermal systems and other areas.

Supporting Breakthrough Technologies

In conjunction with the RE < C major research and development initiative, Google.org will make strategic grants and investments in organizations working to produce renewable energy at a cost below that of coal-fired power plants.

Google.org is already working with two innovative corporations who are building potentially breakthrough technologies, and we look forward to collaborating with other members of the renewable energy field, including companies, R&D laboratories, and universities.

eSolar Inc. specializes in solar thermal power. Solar thermal technology replaces the fuel in a traditional power plant with heat produced from solar energy, and has great potential to produce utility-scale power that is cheaper than coal.

Makani Power Inc. is developing high-altitude wind energy extraction technologies aimed at harnessing the world’s most powerful wind resources. Capturing just a fraction of available high-energy wind would be sufficient to supply current global electricity needs.

Google's Green Commitment

This current initiative is just the next step in Google’s continuing commitment to a clean and green energy future. We have been working hard on energy efficiency and making our business environmentally sustainable.

Last spring we announced that we would be carbon neutral for 2007 and beyond, and we’re on track to meet this goal. We’ve taken concrete steps to reduce our carbon footprint and accelerate improvements in green technology. For example, through design improvements and the adoption of power-saving technologies, such as evaporative cooling, we have made great strides to bolster the efficiency of our data centers – the facilities that store the computers that enable Google to deliver accurate search results at lightning speed. We’ve also reduced the carbon footprint of our building and office operations - for example, by replacing incandescent bulbs with higher-efficiency lighting, and maximizing the use of natural light. And earlier this year we flipped the switch at our Mountain View headquarters on one of the largest corporate solar panel installations in the United States.

In addition to “greening” our own business, we’re also cooperating with members of the tech community to improve efficiency on a broader scale. In 2007, we teamed with Intel and other industry partners to form the Climate Savers Computing Initiative, a group which advocates the design and adoption of less wasteful computing infrastructure. (In November 2007, CSCI achieved a new milestone when we signed on our very first public sector partners, the state governments of Minnesota and Kansas.)