8-19-08 by dugan
Las Vegas, NV –Amid a lot of familiar green rehetoric, Google made some real news today at the National Clean Energy Summit–which I should note is sponsored by Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada and the Center for American Progress. Google’s clean energy guru, Dan Reicher, announced a $10 million investment in "enhanced geothermal systems," the production of steam-driven energy from underground hot spots. It’s not a huge investment, on Google terms, but it’s a timely boost for a neglected clean power source. Geothermal power is available 24/7, to cover off-peak times when solar and wind are unavailable in real time. It’s a logical extension of Google’s billion-dollar "cheaper than coal" project, to push down the cost of renewables to under that of coal for power generation. A kudo is in order.
FYI, $10 million is also the entire yearly investment of ExxonMobil in the development of renewable energy. What’s wrong with this picture?
When I find the You Tube link to Reicher’s presentation, I’ll post it. The sound isn’t working in the auditorium, so right now Reicher is ad-libbing a voice-over. UPDATE: The video and other links are clickable here.