Google Outlines Clean Energy Plan

By; Jennifer Kho

At a speech in San Francisco on Wednesday, Google (GOOG) CEO Eric Schmidt proposed a new energy plan for the U.S. that the company claims could reduce fossil fuel-based energy generation by 88 percent.

The plan calls for the replacement of all coal- and oil-fired electricity generation with national gas and renewable electricity, including a whopping 380 gigawatts of wind power, 250 gigawatts of solar power and 80 gigawatts of geothermal power.

Other elements of the plan include reducing energy use 33 percent via energy-efficiency measures, boosting sales of plug-in hybrid vehicles to 90 percent of new car sales in 2030, increasing the average fuel efficiency of conventional vehicles from 31 miles per gallon to 45 miles per gallon in 2030 and turning over the country's current fleet of vehicles more quickly so that cars are driven only 13 years, instead of an average of 19 years today.

The goals are ambitious, to say the least.

The company said it would require a number of new policies, including a long-term national commitment to renewable electricity – not a minor feat considering that Congress hasn't yet been able to pass a multiyear extension of tax credits for renewable energy after months of effort. It would also require increased transmission capacity, a "smart" electricity grid to better monitor and manage energy use, and higher fuel-efficiency standards for vehicles.

The plan would cost plenty of cash. According to Google, the cost of the proposal - called Clean Energy 2030 - is a hair-raising $4.3 trillion dollars. But the company is also quick to point out that the investment will result in even greater savings of $5.4 trillion over the 22-year life of the plan, according to Google's calculations.

Dan Reicher and Jeffrey Greenblatt, both of Google.org, wrote in a blog post Wednesday:

We see a huge opportunity for the nation to confront our energy challenges. In the process, we will stimulate investment, create jobs, empower consumers and, by the way, help address climate change.

The plan is not the first to attempt to solve the country's energy challenges.

Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens and former U.S. vice president Al Gore also have suggested their own proposals for solving the problem (see T. Boone Pickens Has a Plan and Al Gore Sets Energy Goal).

Comments

[Ferdinand E...:]

Let's see now, do I reach for my 'best academic energy economist in the world' hat, or for the aspirin. Actually, I can't decide, because this so called 'new' energy plan is about as nutty as anything that I have ever heard of, and since I live in Sweden and partake of the Swedish media every day, nuttiness is almost always on the menu.

There are some smart people contributing to Seeking Alpha, but when it comes to this topic the best forum in the world - probably - is EnergyPulse (energypulse.net) in the US. Mr Schmidt should send a copy of his 'new energy policy' to that site. I think that the comments he receives should help to clarify his thinking about these important matters.

But in case he is too busy to entertain this suggestion, I think that he deserves a clue to the optimal energy policy. It begins with a base of reliable and inexpensive nuclear power, on top of which are renewables and....

360 GW of wind energy, 250 of solar, and 80 of geothermal. It might come to that some unhappy day,but if you are around better make sure that you're chilling out in your condo on Devils Island or Git-mo. because I doubt whether the losers in that kind of society will be able to keep from showing their displeasure..

2008 Oct 02 09:16 AM

[Fremont Rea...:]

this is what I love about Google! They put forth great proposals with goal of making the world a better place. I can't say I feel that way about Chevron, or SBC, or Halliburton who aren't interested in putting forth bold altruistic proposals.

2008 Oct 02 12:02 PM

[Ferdinand E...:]

T. Boone Pickens and Al Gore. A wonderful pair. Al Gore lost an election that Al Pachino's stand-in could have won, and as for Mr Pickens, he offered to pay a million dollars to anyone who could prove that Senator John Kerry deserved his medals, or that the 'Swift Boat Captains' were wrong.

Kerry left a soft and safe job in the US Navy to captain a Swift Boat in Vietnam. That by itself was enough for even Bill O'Reilly to call him a patriot. In fact, regardless of what medals he received or didn't receive, just being on a Swift Boat in that situation should have placed him out of range of ignorant remarks by billionaire busybodies.

2008 Oct 02 01:56 PM

[profretail:]

I applaud Google's efforts to offer an idea into the debate on how to improve and meet our energy needs in a cleaner and more efficient manner. Change is what we need in this country and new ideas. There are too many people afraid to improve and innovate which is why we are in the situation we are in. Thank God for the "liberal airheads" who think out of the box....without them, we would be stuck with the greedy close minded "masters of the universe" and big oil that only want to rape this country and the environment for their own benefit! We've seen what results they offer and we've had enough.

2008 Oct 02 06:29 PM

[candooman:]

Google's effort to address our energy problem is applaudable. I am sure this proposal was generated by a group of highly competent people. However, their competency does not reach the levels required to address a national problem for what they outlined here has a basic flaw.

Alternative energy such as solar and wind are unreliable, meaning, it is not available all the time when consumers demand power. Wind and sun are erratic in nature and hence unreliable. Geothermal is limited to a few locations around the country.

We need basepower that will supply power whenever there is demand, 24/7, no rests. Wind and Solar can only be used as a complementary power source.

Base power can only be supplied by clean and reliable conventional nuclear power. Further into the future, fast breeder reactors will need to be developed to supply endless power. We need to restart the research that was stopped by the Clinton administration in 1998 because they could not understand its importance and so now, we have to catch up to China, Russia and India who do.

These alternative sources of clean power require time to build and place into our energy structure. In the meantime we have to rely on gas, oil and coal to tide us over. And, we need to plan their replacement in an orderly manner.

2008 Oct 03 04:30 PM