Google's Gigawatt

If you've been reading my blog, you'll notice that I've been asking a lot of "what am I missing" questions about my observations that renewable energy, over time, should be competitive with energy from current energy sources. Well today, Google came out and asked the same thing: why can't we create renewable energy cheaper than coal? The challenge they've come up with? To create a gigawatt of renewable energy (between 0.2% and 0.3% of the U.S.'s total electricity needs) at costs below coal, and they're putting hundreds of millions of dollars into their various efforts. And everyone laughed when I said it was possible. (OK, no one laughed, but no one exactly went out there and offered my $100 million to go see if it was possible). Google is serious, and thinks this can be done "in years, not decades."

I have to tell you, I'm fired up about this. The more I look into my crystal ball, the more I see a future where our electricity is renewable and our vehicles are electric. When private-market behemoths like Google start moving in the same direction, I see the time to this future scenario shortened.