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Google plans for cheaper solar energy
By siliconindia
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Monday, 14 September 2009, 19:58 IST
Bangalore: In an attempt to reduce the costs involved in setting up solar thermal plants, search giant Google has announced that it will develop its own mirror technology. "Google is investing in companies and researching methods to produce renewable energy within a few years," said Green Energy Czar of Google, Bill Weihl, while speaking at the Reuters Global Climate and Alternative Energy Summit in San Francisco.
Google said it expected to demonstrate some working mirror technology in the next few months, but there was still a lot of work left to do on issues such as on the impact of wear and tear on reflective surfaces. "We are not there yet, however I am very hopeful that we will have mirrors that are cheaper than what companies in the space are using," said Weihl. Google is also investigating the potential of gas turbine technology that runs on solar power rather than the usual natural gas.
Google has been a keen user of solar and other renewable power. The company has installed a 1.6MW solar panel on the roof of its headquarters in California and has a fleet of electrical vehicles. Google is already working with companies such as eSolar, which uses mirrors focused on thermal collectors to power turbines using solar energy, while another of its investments, Makani Power, wants to harvest wind energy at high altitudes. Google is also pushing for smart meters with its own PowerMeter project, which will provide energy use information to consumers' desktops via a Google gadget software application.
