Google Plans up for cheaper Solar Energy

Google is disappointed with the lack of breakthrough investment ideas in the green technology sector but the company is working to develop its own new mirror technology that could reduce the cost of building solar thermal plants by a quarter or more. “We’ve been looking at very unusual materials for the mirrors both for the reflective surface as well as the substrate that the mirror is mounted on,” the company’s green energy czar Bill Weihl told Reuters Global Climate and Alternative Energy Summit in San Francisco on Wednesday.

Google said it expected to demonstrate some working mirror technology in the next few months, but there was still a lot of work left to do on issues such as on the impact of wear and tear on reflective surfaces. “We are not there yet, however I am very hopeful that we will have mirrors that are cheaper than what companies in the space are using,” said Weihl. Google is also investigating the potential of gas turbine technology that runs on solar power rather than the usual natural gas.

Google has been a keen user of solar and other renewable power. The company has installed a 1.6MW solar panel on the roof of its headquarters in California and has a fleet of electrical vehicles. Google is already working with companies such as eSolar, which uses mirrors focused on thermal collectors to power turbines using solar energy, while another of its investments, Makani Power, wants to harvest wind energy at high altitudes. Google is also pushing for smart meters with its own PowerMeter project, which will provide energy use information to consumers’ desktops via a Google gadget software application.

In Photo: Google’s Green Energy Czar Bill Weihl listens to a question during the Reuters Global Climate and Alternative Energy Summit in San Francisco, California September 9, 2009.

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