Google invests $10m in green energy

Google has unveiled plans to invest more than $10m into technology that produces electricity from underground heat, as the search behemoth extends its reach into environmental initiatives.

Through its philanthropic arm Google.org, it announced $10.25m in investments in technology called Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGST) The move is part of Google's bid to invest millions of dollars into green energy sources. Google.org announced funding for two companies and a university.

"It's 24-7, it's potentially developable all over the country, all over the world, and we really do think it could be the 'killer app' of the energy world," Dan Reicher, Google head of climate and energy initiatives, said.

Google's "Renewable Energy Cheaper than Coal" initiative focuses on solar thermal power, advanced wind, EGS and other potential breakthrough technologies. Google has set a goal to produce one gigawatt of renewable energy capacity, enough to power a city the size of San Francisco, in what it termed "years, not decades".

Among other Google green energy initiatives, it said it is developing energy-efficient technology to power and cool its data centres in the US and around the world using 50% less energy than the industry standard.

In addition, it is generating electricity for its Mountain View headquarters in the US from a 1.6 megawatt solar panel installation, one of the largest in the US.

This article was first published on Media Week