It was not very many years back that investing in solar technology or sustainable energy was considered a risky or perhaps odd. These days oil prices are reaching high levels as a result of global conflicts. The un-environmentally friendly nature of fossil fuels along with the carbon emissions they produce means this may not be a clean and sustainable method of obtaining energy.
Nuclear energy has been considered as an alternative to non-renewable fuels although the recent tragedy in Japan causing a melt down with the nuclear plant has put questions over the safety of this. Nuclear energy has a legacy of having to deal with the nuclear waste that frequently must be buried for many years, so has its own issues as a possible power source.
The internet search engine, Google, continues to be increasing its acquisition of companies within it’s brand buy investments in to solar energy. The company’s co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page (as well as brother Carl Page) have invested in a firm called Nanosolar, which specializes in thin-film solar cells. This innovative solar product might be a reason behind an investment because of its future potential.
The thin-film solar cells can be less efficient in harvesting the sun’s energy than traditional solar cells. There’s a much greater possibility with this kind of solar panel as these solar cells could be printed onto a range of different materials from sheets of plastic, which can then be transparently incorporated into roofs, walls and also other surfaces. Thus, more surface can be covered. Traditional solar cells are as decorative as a satellite dish.
Google have made a first investment of around $5 million in the German solar powered energy park. It is to construct a brand new solar facility near to Berlin, Germany. The solar technology park is around 116 acres in dimensions and may become among the largest in Germany generating around 16.65 mega watts of energy, enough to power around 5000 homes.
Google is to invest almost $170 million in the large new solar power plant in the Mojave Desert. The type of solar planet is innovative and called BrightSource Energy. Its “Ivanpah” solar electric generating system, uses a series of mirrors to mirror the suns energy towards a solar tower. The electricity generated by all three plants is sufficient serve in excess of 140,000 homes in California through the peak hours of the day
Investing in solar technology is a step from the norm for Google. Its more major acquisitions prior to now tend to fit more with the online markets it are operating in including much talked about sites for instance Youtube,com. Could this be among the first indications of Google flexing its corporate muscle and investing for ethical reasons or constructing a business empire less reliant on online technologies and advertising?
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