The Federal Regulatory Energy Commission has granted Google the right to behave like a utility company. Google Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of Google, will be able to sell back excess energy produced with solar wind and other technologies to the general public. This is a big step in a new direction for Google. Anyone who has considered a home solar installation knows that the availability of net metering can be a limiter on how large an installation to install on a house. Why put in extra energy producing capacity if you can’t sell it back to the grid, you would just be giving away your capacity and earning no ROI on your larger solar array. Well, now Google has an incentive to build larger energy producing systems, and what’s more, they can actually focus on producing with the intent to sell.
Most people have heard about Google’s massive solar installations that help to power the Googleplex as well as their data centers across the world. They’ve even got solar parking covers that charge employee hybrids and EV’s while they work! Recently Google put in something a little different, a micro powerplant called Bloom Boxes that converts fuel and oxygen into efficient on-site electricity. The technology was revealed on the television program 60 Minutes today and the company is backed by Kleiner Perkins (the same guys who funded Google and many other successful startups in the Bay Area). The video segment covering Bloom Box is available below along with a screenshot from that source.
By leveraging their existing search, email, and advertising customer relationships with efficient clean energy options, Google will have access to more information that can be used for… advertising! and other Googly things. Considering the potential micropower boom that Bloom Box could create with the help of an allie like Google, and Google’s new license to sell power, I’m optimistic and excited to see what happens next!
