You might think that given the high cost of gas and the pollution spewed out by burning coal and other fossile fuels, our government would be spearheading the development of alternative fuels. As with most things, however, the solution is having to come from the private sector. Fortunately, an innovative and relatively new company is stepping up to the plate.
When most of us hear “Google,” we think of the search engine that helps us find stuff on the Internet, but Google is now taking the lead in tapping alternative sources of energy. As reported in the recent Geotimes article, “Changing the World One Kilowatt at a Time,” by Megan Sever, Google is putting its efforts behind three alternative sources of energy – solar thermal, high-altitude wind, and enhanced geothermal powers. Google’s goal? To have clean technologies that are ready to start to scale up and that will cost less than coal within 10 years.
Is Google doing anything to help with the current gas prices and future oil shortages? The article didn’t mention anything about this, but I think tapping any sort of clean energy source to produce electricity can contribute to resolving any future oil shortages. After all, the main thing preventing hydrogen from becoming an economical replacement for gas is the fact that it costs more (in electricity) to produce than the power it generates. With plenty of cheap electricity, we can start producing the hydrogen we need.
For more about Google’s plan, check out “ RE<C (Renewable Energy Cheaper Than Coal).”
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Yep, its all pretty high-fallutin stuff from Google. They can have an influence but there is very little that they can do practically to provide cheap gas and electricity.