One of the latest bits from Google is their goal to develop mass-scale alternative energy production that is cheaper than coal. Google's press release quotes Larry Page, Google co-founder and President of Products:
"Our goal is to produce one gigawatt of renewable energy capacity that is cheaper than coal. We are optimistic this can be done in years, not decades." (One gigawatt can power a city the size of San Francisco.)Google will initially focus on solar thermal, wind power, and geothermal energy technologies. They will not be going at it alone, but hope to work with many partners. They are simply going to set the goal, pour "tens of millions" of dollars a year, and take some credit should they succeed.
I'm no expert on alternative energy technologies, but it sounds like a difficult goal in a short timeframe. A worthy goal all the same, I suppose. Imagine if they were able to develop one or a combination of the alternative energy sources into a large scale system that was cheaper than coal? Their focus is on technologies that can be replicated around the world. I was under the impression that geothermal energy is not a great possibility except for a small number of locals around the world. Then again, I'm not an expert on this stuff.
Last week, Bill Weihl, Google's "alternative energy czar," was interviewed on NPR's Science Friday
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