Stars Align for Renewable Energy (Business Week)

http://www.businessweek.com/investor/content/jan2008/pi2008013_134511.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_investing

You know something is hot when Google (GOOG) wants in. The dominant Internet search company stunned investors last month with an announcement that it will begin hiring engineers and other energy experts for a project that plans to generate 1 gigawatt (GW=1 billion watts) of electricity—the output of a fair-sized nuclear power plant—from renewable sources. Not just any renewable source will do, however. Google's goal is to find sources that can generate power more cheaply than power from coal—the ultimate goal of any renewable energy technology.

Google said it will use its experience building energy-efficient data centers to invest in renewable energy technologies, particularly in solar, geothermal, and wind power. If it succeeds, the company would be in a position to provide a large amount of electric power while reducing carbon dioxide emissions. "We expect this would be a good business for us as well," says founder Larry Page, adding the company expects results "in years, not in decades."

Business Imperatives Meet Policy Initiatives

"Google is very focused on operating efficiencies and sees renewable energy as good not only for the environment but also for the company's bottom line," says Standard & Poor's equity analyst Scott Kessler, who has a hold recommendation on Google shares. Google does not disclose its annual power bill, but "energy-related expenses are becoming more material for Google and other corporations," Kessler says.

Around the world, investment in renewable energy projects is skyrocketing and will only increase further as calls grow for tighter restrictions on emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Major U.S. corporations, including General Electric (GE), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), DuPont (DD), and AIG (AIG), pledged their support in late November for "a comprehensive, legally binding United Nations framework to tackle climate change." It would supercede the Kyoto Protocol—a U.N.-sponsored treaty that commits developed nations to collectively reduce their greenhouse gas emissions below their levels in 1990—when it expires in 2012. "We believe that tackling climate change is the pro-growth strategy. Ignoring it will ultimately undermine economic growth," the group said.

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Nice PR move!

Google seems genuinely dedicated to renewable energy sources, and energy-efficient buildings. Their campus is an example of this.

and I know Google is heavily invested in Nanosolar. But why re-draft Kyoto? It's a slap in the face, and another point scored for corporate political rule.

:hi:

adding something under really tight security. on one project alone there is 24 hugh generators going in with 4000 gallons of diesel fuel per a pair of them. What could they be needing all that power for, V 16 cummings and caterpiller powered emergency generators. All the workers there have to sign a contract that they are to talk to no one about what they are doing there other than the fact they are doing whatever kind of work they do, nothing about what google is doing though. I'm serious here when I say it is a big operation though.