Google Goes GreenIt’s not enough for Google to be the world’s biggest search and advertising

company. It now wants to power the globe.

The Mountain View, Calif., Internet giant officially jumped into the clean-tech

fray Tuesday, saying it will spend hundreds of millions of dollars to create

alternative energy sources that are cheaper than coal, the world’s dominant

fuel source and pollutant.

Google said its “Renewable Energy Cheaper Than Coal” initiative will focus

initially on solar thermal power, wind power technologies, geothermal

systems and other technologies.

“We have gained expertise in building data centers, but just providing energy

for Google isn’t enough of a goal,” co-founder Larry Page Larry Page said at a

press conference. “Over 40% of [the world's] electricity is generated from coal.

Solar thermal is cheaper than coal. The goal is to produce a gigawatt of energy

in years, not decades.” He noted that a gigawatt can power the city of San

Francisco.

Solar thermal power, however, is not currently cheaper to produce than coal,

but numerous start-ups around the world are trying to reduce solar’s cost.

Google.org, the company’s philanthropic arm, has been working with solar

thermal start-ups eSolar, of Pasadena, Calif., and Alameda, Calif.-based

Makani Power, both of which are developing technologies to make solar

energy generation less expensive. Google invested $10 million in Makani last

year. Google.org Executive Director Larry Brilliant said the corporate initiative

dovetails with the philanthropy’s work on global health and climate change.

Co-founder Sergey Brin Sergey Brin hinted that Google might invest in or

acquire other clean-tech companies. He said Google likely will license the

technologies, but the “goal is not to have huge margins. The goal is to replace

dirty energy.”

The company has already embarked on several clean-tech initiatives. It

developed energy-saving technologies to power and cool its massive data

centers around the world and erected a 1.6-megawatt solar panel at its

headquarters. Google also supports plug-in hybrid vehicle technology and is

part of a consortium of tech companies that advocates energy-efficient

computers and servers.

Asked how its new clean-tech initiative fits into Google’s core search and

advertising business, Brin said it’s part of the company’s 70-20-10 rule.

Seventy percent of Google’s focus is on search and advertising, 20% is on Web

applications and 10% “is up for grabs,” Brin said. “I’d put this in the 10%, but

it’s crucial.”

Perhaps more than launching its big, new program, Brin said he hopes the

announcement will funnel top clean-tech job applicants to Google.