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Google applies to become an electricity marketer
By siliconindia
Bangalore: To buy and sell bulk power at market prices, just the way large utilities and energy traders do, the Internet giant Google has taken the unusual step of applying for approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to become an electricity marketer. The company, which made the application, last month through its Google Energy LLC subsidiary, says that the change will help in better management of supplies for its own operations and give it greater access to renewable energy sources, reports the Wall Street Journal.
As claimed, the move offers an indication of just how much electricity large tech firms now consume in order to run their sprawling networks of servers and mainframes. Google, which has solar panels on its offices, wants to buy bulk power. If its FERC request is granted, "We could go directly to a renewable energy project and buy power for our operations," Google Spokeswoman Niki Fenwick told the Wall Street Journal. The company also wants the ability to enter into contracts for carbon offsets.
Google's FERC application could also potentially allow the company to play a much larger role in energy markets, even becoming a wholesaler of electricity to other big buyers. In its application, the company said it was reserving for itself the right to "act as a power marketer, purchasing electricity and reselling it to wholesale customers," and trading "in the bulk power markets, such as arranging, transmission and fuel supplies."
Although more than 1,500 companies currently have status as energy marketers, the vast majority are utilities or power generators. The move is unusual for a tech company, though some industrial concerns that operate stores or factories, such as fixture-maker Kohler, smelter Alcoa and grocer Safeway, have approval from FERC.
In 2007, Google announced its intention to become "carbon neutral," meaning it would take actions to neutralize the effects of carbon dioxide produced in the course of furnishing its buildings and data centers with electricity. It installed a 1.6-megawatt solar array on its headquarters building and has been trying to obtain green power, when available.
Niki says the company has "no plans" to sell its energy management services to others or to become a speculative energy trader, but she acknowledged the "green team" it has formed "is not sure what we're going to do."
A FERC Spokeswoman says the commission's primary concern is market dominance and since Google doesn't own power plants or utilities, that's not likely to be an issue. But the commission could ask for clarity on Google's plans, since it's an unusual applicant, she added.
Also, Yahoo has considered applying for permission to act as an energy marketer, said David Dibble, Executive Vice President of Service Engineering and Operations at Yahoo, in a statement. "But, we've found that our costs and service quality in buying close to the source are more cost effective than purchasing wholesale and distributing out of region," he continued. A Yahoo spokesman added that the company may apply in the future.
