TalkClimateChange

Automotive and fossil fuel industries please take note:

Google are aiming to reduce the cost of renewable electricity such that it becomes cheaper than coal with the announcement of their RE<C initiative. The aim is to develop renewable electricity technologies which can generate up to 1 gigawatt of electricity - enough to power a city the size of San Francisco.

To achieve this lofty goal, Google will use their financial and intellectual capital in partnership with a variety of renewable energy technology firms. The focus will initially be on advanced solar thermal power, wind power technologies and enhanced geothermal systems.

We’ve always believed that Co2 reduction can be achieved without compromising global economies and our way of life. What has been missing until now is true vision, leadership and entrepreneurial attention to the problem. And if renewable energy can indeed be made more cheaply than carbon based energy on a large scale we have a fantastic win-win situation.

The economics of the venture remain unclear - Google has always adopted a strategy of finding neat solutions first, and working out the business model later. What is clear is that owning the technology which may become part of the solution to the future of energy production could have incalculable financial rewards.

It’s just a pity that the automakers and the fossil fuel industry don’t share such foresight.