SAN FRANCISCO – Google and General Electric said Wednesday that they will collaborate on developing geothermal power as well as technology to enable plug-in vehicles to return electricity to the grid.
During Google’s (GOOG) annual Zeitgeist conference at its Silicon Valley headquarters, Google CEO Eric Schmidt and GE (GE) chief Jeff Immelt said the two giants also would team up to push for policy changes in Washington to develop smart electricity grids to allow the widespread deployment of renewable energy.
“There’s two fundamental things that have to be done, and which we’re working with Google on,” said Immelt before an audience that included former Vice President Al Gore. “One, there has to be more capacity. The second thing is there has to be a smart grid to allow it to operate more effectively. That’s primarily software. We make the hardware.”
Schmidt quizzed Immelt about the impact of the Wall Street meltdown on green energy. “Will the craziness of last week screw some of this stuff up?” asked Schmidt. “Are we going to get set back for years because of all the shenanigans in the financial industry?”
“People should be concerned but not panicked,” replied Immelt. “The federal government is doing the right thing.”
Gore was not so sanguine, noting that Congress has failed repeatedly to extend crucial investment tax credits for renewable energy. “While Congress is voting on oil drilling and leasing oil shale – which is a move that would be game over for the climate crisis – they’re preparing to filibuster over renewable energy tax credits,” he said.
Google and GE are among scores of Fortune 500 companies that have lobbied Congress to extend the investment tax credit and the production tax credit, which is particularly important to the wind industry. ”
“I’m a lifelong Republican and I believe in free markets but over time we worship false idols,” says Immelt. “Sometimes we think the free market is whatever the price of oil is today. In the end, clean energy is both a technology and a public policy.”
He noted that because the production tax credit allowed the wind industry to scale up, wind-generated electricity now costs about six-to-seven cents a kilowatt hour, down from 15 cents 15 years ago.
“We bought Enron’s wind business for a few million dollars and now it’s worth $7 to 8 billion,” Immelt said. “I’ve made some bad decisions but that wasn’t one of them.”
Google in August invested nearly $11 million in geothermal companies developing so-called enhanced geothermal systems technology to allow the earth’s heat to be tapped nearly anywhere and turned into electricity. On Wednesday, Google and GE said they will work on technology to transform geothermal into a large-scale source of green electricity.
In a statement, the two companies said they will also “explore enabling technologies including software, controls and services that help utilities enhance grid stability and integrate plug-in vehicles and renewable energy into the grid.”
Green Wombat 
Glad to see this type of collaboration. Meanwhile, looks like Microsoft lost out…
Please consider Microbial Fuelcells as developed at Umass and National Science Foundation. microbialfuelcell.org/general.htm.
ELECTRICITY IS ON THE RISE AGAIN! WE WILL BE PAYING FOR THE RICH TO PLUG IN FOR SOMETHING WE CAN’T EVEN AFORD!
Microsoft has Seinfeld, what more could they want? :o)
Does this mean we will see millions of poor folks driving around in circles in order to plug their vehicles into the grid to sell the power their vehicles generated to make some coin?
It’s good to see successful companies looking to invest in clean, alternative companies. If the GOP would stop protecting the “Oil Machine” then more companies would invest in alternative energy.
I’m sorry, but when google builds a data center it uses about 15 MEGAWATTS, in 100,000 sq/ft building. That enough for about 10,000 – 15,000 homes. Now they have the gaul to team up with GE and tell us that we should be using CFL’s. What a joke.
I have mixed feelings about all this as well, but at least a stable and successful company is starting somewhere. Also doing more than most if not all other successful companies in the US.
If Google didn’t build those data centers, you wouldn’t be able to “google” now, could you
Google has never denied, or tried to obscure it’s carbon footprint. There’s no secret to the fact that data centers use lots of electricity – but does that mean Google (and others) can’t work proactively to lower that footprint and help solve energy problems.
Pat – just because Google uses electricity, why would their effort to use less (or find alternative sources) be considered a joke? Thankfully, there are those with the courage and creativity to innovate while naysayers like you sit on the sidelines.
Read this: http://www.google.com/corporate/green/energy/reducing.html
This is awesome, if only more companies would follow this lead we might have a shot at saving ourselves.
Why would anyone argue with Google doing something like this? How do YOU have the GAUL to bash Google for trying to improve their power use. How many other companies out there have huge data centers that could care less about changing their habits… Google is the type of company that will get things done, will innovate and improve things for the entire world. They are working on the idea of having marine based data centers which use the water to cool and produce electricity. Google is a business, data centers are an operating expense, its not like they are building more and more just for the heck of it. The amount of data centers they have is because that is what is needed to run their business, at least they are doing something to improve on that! YOU are the JOKE!
Finally!! we are investing in geothermal energy. I have been an advocate for this renewable source for awhile and finally hearing something about it in the news. This source of energy will always be there and never run out. It works on the basic principles of thermodynamics, so you don’t need to come up with some crazy new technology. Iceland already uses this for most of their energy source and we should as well. No enviromental impact, easy to design, and lasts forever how can you go wrong. We need to get these plants up and running asap!
In this day & age, I’m SO glad to be an employee of GE Wind Energy…job security, cross-trained in geo-thermal, nuclear, hydo, and its only gonna get better….