Google announced last week that it is entering the renewable energy arena. RE<C is the name of the new initiative which deciphered means Renewable Energy Less Than Coal. And that’s the goal: renewable energy cheaper than coal, develop, implement and eventually commercialize for the rest of the world a renewable supply of electricity that would cost less per unit of energy than that of coal. Coal is the world’s least expensive source of energy, the most widely used and of course the single most troublesome emitter of greenhouse gases.

Initially RE<C will aim to produce one gigawatt of renewable electricity. Google will focus on three renewable technology areas, enhanced geothermal, wind energy and advanced solar thermal but will keep other potential breakthrough technologies in mind. The company is already hiring experts to quickly move the effort forward.

Google can close its doors to special interests. Whereas Washington - and by extension, various branches of the federal government - and to some extent a few state governments - are trying to shape our energy future. But special interest is working hard to shape government in pursuit of profits. But Google doesn’t have to return phone calls when the coal industry wants to talk. Google has its version of what’s right for the nation, the planet.

Like many companies now, Google is concerned for the future of the planet. Other programs within Google and Google.org make that obvious. It’s Specialized / Google Innovate or Die contest for pedal-powered machines is one example. Another is Google.org’s RechargeIT Initiative to accelerate the adoption of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and vehicle-to-grid technology.

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Google goes green

Good idea. Server farms are ideal candidates for renewable local energy because their power consumption is relatively steady throughout the year. I notice Thom's website is on a (allegedly) "green" server powered by a solar field in San Diego. The problem is complicated by the fact that large internet nodes are at big cities, where land values are also very high. What they need to do is build high-speed internet in remote Arizona and Nevada deserts, where fields of photovoltaics are cheap to install.