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General
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Written by Daniel
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Wednesday, 10 September 2008 11:16 |
Google says that alternative energy justification is simple math
Jason Mick (Blog) - September 9, 2008 11:34 AM
Google has already made it clear that it wants to promote alternative energy in a big way as part of its "Don't be evil" philosophy. Its initial round of funding included grants to solar and a high-altitude wind power startup. In its second round, Google granted $10M USD more to a couple of geothermal startups, looking to harness Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) -- which involve injecting water deep into the ground to make steam.
Now Google has outlined a comprehensive plan to accomplish what the U.S. government and private business has thus far been unable to do -- eliminate U.S. dependence on foreign oil and non-renewable energy sources.
Google CEO Eric Schmidt outlined the new plan at the Corporate EcoForum which featured executives from Coca-Cola, Motorola, Clorox, Microsoft, and other top industry players. In order to back his plan, Mr. Schmidt used a great deal of calculations. He says that the justification for adopting alternative energy boils down to basic math, with the formula energy efficiency = savings (or E2=$) being the key. He stated, "It's just a math problem."
His plan is for the U.S. to by 2030 adopt renewable energy sources for 100 percent of the country's power generation. This would eliminate the coal-fired plants primarily used to provide electricity. Further, he says that in that time span half the cars need to be replaced with plug-in hybrids, like the Chevy Volt.
The math adds up, he says. The result will be to cut U.S. carbon emissions in half, which he says will help to avert man-made climate change. He says there are also great financial benefits to the adoption. He says the U.S. would save 97 percent of $2.17 trillion in energy spending over the next 22 years.
Alternative energy would add up to big in-sourcing of alternative energy design, production, and installation jobs as well, says Mr. Schmidt. According to his figures, there are currently 500,000 jobs in wind companies alone. [Dailytech...] [Comments...]
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