Google and GE to partner on smart grid

Some day search might mean nothing to Google?

Space, solar power, plug-in hybrid vehicles, these are a just a few of the things in which Google is investing.

Together with GE, Google will develop a "policy partnership" to lobby Congress towards "tomorrow's power generation, transmission and distribution."

Ultimately, Google and GE are hoping their lobbying effort can bring smart grid technology to market quicker, a key technology to required for the electrification of the automobile. Obviously, a smart grid would also increase the efficiency of the power grid.

Can Google make renewable energy affordable?

Plug-in hybrids, renewable energy and the X-Prize

Google is quite an interesting company. First the company created a project to fund plug-in hybrid vehicles, then it joined the X-Prize and the private space race. Now Google wants to make renewable energy sources, especially solar, wind and geothermal, as cost-effective as coal as soon as possible.

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) today announced a new strategic initiative to develop electricity from renewable energy sources that will be cheaper than electricity produced from coal. The newly created initiative, known as RE-C, will focus initially on advanced solar thermal power, wind power technologies, enhanced geothermal systems and other potential breakthrough technologies. RE-C is hiring engineers and energy experts to lead its research and development work, which will begin with a significant effort on solar thermal technology, and will also investigate enhanced geothermal systems and other areas. In 2008, Google expects to spend tens of millions on research and development and related investments in renewable energy. As part of its capital planning process, the company also anticipates investing hundreds of millions of dollars in breakthrough renewable energy projects which generate positive returns.

Google's X-Prize- To the moon!

Google and X-Prize Foundation Partner!

"Google Inc. is bankrolling a $30 million spaceflight contest for private companies to safely land a robotic rover on the moon and beam back a gigabyte of images and video to Earth, the Internet search leader said Thursday.

The grand prize could be worth up to $25 million.

If the competition produces a winner, it would prove a major boon to the emerging private spaceflight industry and mark the first time that a nongovernment entity has flown a lunar space probe."