Google Archives – The Green Optimistic

Google’s Goal to be Completely Powered by Green Energy

Matthew Fiala — Wed, 17 Oct 2018 09:12:08 +0000

Google, one of the world’s largest tech companies, is working hard to source all its energy from carbon-free sources 24 hours a day. It published a discussion paper last week on the company’s website to announce its progress for the first time. This undertaking is more difficult than it sounds. Despite rapid progress in battery […]

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Houston, TX, Best for Rooftop Solar Power, Says Google Study

Ece Polat — Mon, 27 Mar 2017 13:25:15 +0000

Google has recently announced that it is working on a project that will help people learn how much electricity their rooftop can provide with a solar power system. Project Sunroof, will include a 3D model of every rooftop in 50 states and include shades, trees, and weather in the calculation. According to this new software […]

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Helsinki Wants App-Based Transportation Lines

Courtney Lepping — Tue, 19 Jul 2016 20:40:53 +0000

Should you give up your privacy and personal vehicle to better society? In terms of transportation, the Helsinki government in Finland thinks so. In a push for reducing the carbon footprint, congestion, traffic accidents, and poor air quality, the government seeks to rid the need for individually-owned vehicles by 2025. Traffic engineer Sonja Heikkilä came […]

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Google’s Project Sunroof Calculates the Solar Potential of Your House

Satya Sivani — Fri, 28 Aug 2015 19:33:03 +0000

Google has launched the Project Sunroof, a set of tools, which can help us estimate how much we can save by switching to solar. The creation of Alphabet and Android Experiments, the announcement stating Sundar Pichai as Google’s new CEO, and now the launch of Project Sunroof – all have placed Google in the spotlight, this […]

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That Time Google Almost Bought Tesla Motors

Benji Jerew — Wed, 22 Apr 2015 17:12:53 +0000

Do you remember that time that Google almost bought Tesla Motors? A new book, Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, due to be published May 19, shows just how close such a deal came. We’ve touched on the possibility of a tech company buying Tesla Motors a couple of times, […]

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Global Forest Watch Monitors Deforestation Almost in Real Time

Mila Luleva — Wed, 25 Mar 2015 11:33:45 +0000

Global Forest Watch is a new interactive online tool, which helps monitoring and management of world’s forest cover. Backed by Google, UNEP and USAid among others, the system shows data in near-real time. The importance of forest cover is incredibly high, especially when trees are one of the most crucial weapons we have against raising carbon […]

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Largest Solar Farm Helps South Africa Reach Renewable Energy Targets

Mila Luleva — Thu, 20 Nov 2014 10:12:03 +0000

Yes, Europe and the US are proud of their huge solar power plants, but this does not mean they can claim all the glory. Just last month, South Africa officially announced that the biggest solar power plant on the continent has begun operation. The solar power plant, which is called Jasper, is located in Kimberley, […]

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Google’s New Dutch Data Center to be Powered by a New Wind Farm

Mila Luleva — Thu, 20 Nov 2014 08:43:54 +0000

Google announced their latest investment in a giant wind farm to power their new data center in the Netherlands. The wind farm is currently under construction by one of Netherland’s lead energy companies, Eneco, and it is set to begin operation in 2016. Google has been investing enormously in green power projects over the past few […]

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Google Offers $1 Million to the Inventor of a Smaller, Cheaper and Efficient Solar Power Inverter

Mila Luleva — Mon, 12 May 2014 10:05:22 +0000

What will the next generation solar power inverter look like? We should ask Google, or rather, all great minds who will join the Little Box Challenge. The event is organized by the tech giant, and has an aim to produce a tiny power box that can help Google reach their ultimate goal- to power all […]

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This is Google’s Biggest Renewable Energy Investment so Far

Mila Luleva — Tue, 29 Apr 2014 18:32:22 +0000

The tech giant Google is by far the biggest supporter of green energy. To date, the company has invested in numerous projects, from producing biofuels, investing in wind power and solar projects, all the way to exploring geothermal power resources. And just when we thought that their biggest investment in renewables has already been made, they […]

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Google Buys Solar-Powered Drone Company Titan Aerospace, Beats Facebook

Mila Luleva — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 12:57:43 +0000

Just a month after Facebook announced their plans to buy Titan Aerospace, the company, which designs solar-powered drones, and supply unlimited wireless internet network even at the most remote areas of the world, the tech giant Google jumped in first and bought it instead. Although the future plans for the self-powered flying machines are not yet […]

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Project ARA: Google’s New DIY Mobile Phone Could Cut Down E-Waste

Mila Luleva — Fri, 28 Feb 2014 11:41:19 +0000

Earlier this week, Google finally gave details on their latest invention during an event held in San Francisco. Under the project called “Project Ara“, the tech giant is developing a mobile phone, which has the potential to solve once and for all the problem with dumping used mobile devices in landfills. The gadget will be […]

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Could a Tech Company Buy Tesla Motors?

Benji Jerew — Tue, 18 Feb 2014 17:04:30 +0000

Tesla Motors is perhaps the most successful automotive startup in the last half-century, but in the world of business, just about everything is for sale. Of course, the best reason to buy a company is to improve your own profitability. In fact, it’s been speculated that some automaker, like General Motors, or perhaps a tech […]

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$70 Thermostat proves the power of open-source technology

Danny Harper — Tue, 28 Jan 2014 08:04:58 +0000

Although every big corporation and patent troll would tell you otherwise, the open source model is one of the surest paths to technological innovation and progress. By offering universal access to a product’s design, and then allowing improvements on said design to be redistributed to anyone who wants to continue polishing, open source democratizes the building process, […]

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Google Buys Nest Thermostat Company for Just Over $3 Billion

Mila Luleva — Tue, 14 Jan 2014 13:13:55 +0000

Google bought Nest, for $3.2 billion, an investment, which many are still not quite sure whether it is a smart one or not. But the tech giant hardly ever makes mistakes, and surely they have a very good reason for massively overbidding in order to claim property over the makers of the smart thermostat and […]

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Google’s Support of ALEC Draws the Ire of Environmental Groups

Leigh Hutchens — Sat, 07 Dec 2013 07:13:57 +0000

230,000 activists from Sierra Club, Forecast the Facts, SumOfUs, RootsAction and the Center for Media and Democracy have joined together to urge Google to end its alliance with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). This objection comes just as Google is participating as a corporate member in its first States and Nation Policy Summit in […]

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Google, KKR and Recurrent Energy Co-Fund Six Solar Power Plants

Mila Luleva — Fri, 15 Nov 2013 13:15:33 +0000

Google has made another clean energy investment, this time buying six solar power plants, which are currently under development and are expected to become fully operational in January 2014. Together with the global investment firm KKR, and Recurrent Energy, they paid a total of $400 million for the solar plants with combined capacity of 106 […]

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Google’s Motorola Subdivision Develops an Open Hardware Platform for Modular Smartphones

Leigh Hutchens — Sat, 02 Nov 2013 02:21:54 +0000

On Monday, Motorola unveiled Project Ara, a hardware platform that will let consumers build their own smartphones by snapping modular parts into a frame. Owned by Google, Motorola is taking its parent company’s lead in innovative thinking and design. Motorola’s Project Ara aims to develop a “free, open hardware platform for creating highly modular smartphones.” […]

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Whose Autonomous Vehicle Would You Buy? KPMG Study

Benji Jerew — Thu, 10 Oct 2013 20:05:51 +0000

Practically every major automaker, some technology companies, and even university researchers, are working on what could change the automobile experience forever: autonomous vehicles. Autonomous vehicles could be the solution to the ever-present problems of traffic fatalities, traffic congestion, and possibly automobile emissions. The highway is an ever-changing place, with myriad hazards, including various road surfaces, […]

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Solar Impulse HB-SIA Will Go Global, Literally, with Google Partnership

Benji Jerew — Wed, 18 Sep 2013 20:27:43 +0000

A few companies have the distinction of global recognition, such as Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Coca-Cola, or Google. Swiss company Solar Impulse could join the list soon, going global quite literally. Solar Impulse is a unique company, led by a Swiss psychiatrist/aeronaut, Bertrand Piccard, and a businessman, André Borschberg, who’ve set out to prove that flight […]

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Google Reports 9% Drop in Their Carbon Footprint in 2012

Mila Luleva — Fri, 06 Sep 2013 04:20:14 +0000

Google has reported a significant drop in their carbon footprint in 2012, as just stated by the search engine giant in their annual report. The company is extremely proud of the successful figures, and rightly so, after a long period of six years being ‘carbon neutral’. Although they continue to purchase carbon offsets in order […]

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Tesla Motors Not For Sale Yet, says Elon Musk

Benji Jerew — Wed, 26 Jun 2013 16:32:06 +0000

With his hands in so many pots, and big pots at that, Elon Musk still has no intention of letting Tesla Motors go to anyone else, at least, not for now. Elon Musk’s list of accomplishments is varied and impressive, including the inception and development of PayPal, which he eventually sold for $1.5 billion in […]

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South African Solar Power Plant Backed by Google

Mila Luleva — Fri, 31 May 2013 12:36:40 +0000

Google has yet again decided to invest in a renewable energy project, this time funding a solar plant in South Africa. The Jasper Power Project, a photovoltaic plant, which is expected to generate 96MW of clean energy, has attracted an impressive number of major investors. Besides Google, other companies include SolarReserve, a major U.S. solar […]

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Airborne Wind Turbine Company Makani Power Bought by Google

Ovidiu Sandru — Fri, 24 May 2013 18:00:06 +0000

Makani Power, the company who made an airborne wind turbine a few years ago, has been acquired by Google for an undisclosed sum. Google had already invested about $15 million in them and if they bought the idea it may mean there’s something worth following about Makani. The Makani Power team will now joing Google […]

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Sergey Brin’s Tesla Model S Just Got Pimped

Benji Jerew — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 16:33:09 +0000

Something seen cannot be unseen, and this is the case with Google co-founder Sergey Brin’s Tesla Model S, just thank goodness the damages [the car, grey matter is another story altogether] aren’t permanent. April 1st, for some, is the perfect time to pull off a prank, and Google employees had a good time with their […]

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Google Expands Googleplex Offices in Green Fashion

Leigh Hutchens — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 07:49:21 +0000

Google has long been envied for its spectacular work environment, and if the company’s vision comes to fruition, major changes to its environmentally friendly “Googleplex” in Mountainview, California will take place and be ready by 2015. Working with the Seattle-based architectural firm NBBJ to expand its current “Googleplex,” the company is planning a spectacular 1.1 […]

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Google Promotes Greener Building Materials for Better Indoor Health

Leigh Hutchens — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 06:13:27 +0000

Imagine being in an office where toxic chemicals are contained in desks, carpets, ceiling tiles, and paint. Many people are unaware of potentially toxic chemicals around them, and the absence of clear and accessible information only facilitates their lack of knowledge. Google seeks to rectify this issue. The US Green Building Council (USGBC) has received […]

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Google Uses Micro Biorefinery for Powering Test Vehicle

Janina Lazo-Cruz — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 14:33:12 +0000

Cool Planet Energy Systems introduces its ingenious clean-technology product – a modular and shippable micro biorefinery for on-site biofuel generation that costs only $1.5 per gallon of biofuel produced; and one of its clients, Google, has been testing this product by using 5% share of biofuel in its campus vehicle’s transport fuel. Google’s fuel test […]

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Google’s Oklahoma Data Center Totally Powered by Wind

Mila Luleva — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 13:55:23 +0000

After years of investment in clean power energy projects across the United States, Google has finally announced the purchase of their own first ever wind turbine to power one of their data centers in Oklahoma. The choice of this particular data center was carefully thought through. Since its construction, Google has invested exceptionally large sum […]

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The Story of Send: Google’s Own Way of Saying “Hi, I’m Green!”

Ovidiu Sandru — Wed, 16 May 2012 17:30:26 +0000

You probably found this while googling, so the search giant Google is no stranger to you. Well, they may be giant and all, but as far as I know they’re the greenest Internet service provider out there. That’s why Google decided today that it’s important to let people know what chain is actually involved when […]

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Google Uses Recycled Wastewater to Cool Douglas County Data Center

Ovidiu Sandru — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 12:10:43 +0000

A new Google initiative wants to recycle wastewater to cool its hot Douglas County, Georgia data center. By collaborating with the local water authority (The Douglas County Water and Sewer Authority – WSA), Google will not only avoid using freshwater for cooling purposes, but will also partially clean the wastewater (30%), thus helping the community use […]

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Google Pulls Plug on Renewable Energy Project

Ovidiu Sandru — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 19:35:03 +0000

Anyone knows that by trying to catch two (or more) rabbits at once you probably won’t catch any. So does Google, it seems. Larry Page, their CEO, has now decided to pull the plug on a renewable energy project once ambitious: Renewable Energy Cheaper than Coal. Maybe Page took Steve Jobs’s advice to focus on […]

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Microsoft Hohm and Google PowerMeter Closing Their Power Saving Services

Ovidiu Sandru — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 11:09:24 +0000

It looks like the world doesn't care much about saving electricity, when gasoline is way more expensive and companies like Google or Microsoft are even thinking of charging their users for saving that power. The conclusion: Microsoft and Google have both decided that it's time to end their Hohm and Power Meter services, reasoning that they didn't have much success on the market, even if offered as free.

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Google Cools New Finland Data Center With Sea Water, No Air Conditioning

Ovidiu Sandru — Thu, 26 May 2011 15:46:49 +0000

Besides investing in the most interesting and promising green technologies, Google is now reaffirming its green commitment by building a data center in Hamina, Finland. Initially built in the 1950s and projected to be a paper mill, the building already had tunnels diving into the sea.

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Google Partners With Ford in Hybrid Car Fuel Efficiency Optimization Project

Ovidiu Sandru — Tue, 17 May 2011 18:14:16 +0000

Google usually handles internet searches, advertising and other high-tech stuff, but it looks like they've recently involved in various automotive projects, like the one Ford is going to use for predicting the user's driving behavior and adapting the power needed for that particular driving style and road.

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Google's Self-Driving Cars Could Save Lives And Fuel At The Same Time

Ovidiu Sandru — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 16:04:26 +0000

In secret and in plain view, Google's seven test cars have driven more than 140,000 miles with little intervention from humans, out of which 1,000 were totally autonomous. The program could save lives and fuel, because computers are not heavy-footed and do not accelerate more than necessary and don't brake right after that, like many humans do.

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Google Improving Mirror Technology For Making Solar Concentrators 2x Cheaper

Ovidiu Sandru — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 10:31:15 +0000

Besides its search engine activities, Google focused on producing alternative energy technologies, or improving the existing ones. So is the case now, when Google developed a new mirror technology that could help solar companies like eSolar or BrightSource make cheaper and better solar thermal plants.

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Google Planning to Improve Solar Thermal Plants for Cheap Electricity

Mike Sandru — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 11:30:45 +0000

Google Inc is planning to develop its own mirror technology for solar energy that could be more cheaper and accessible to the masses, reducing the cost of building solar thermal plants by a quarter or more.

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Google Releases Free Energy Monitoring Software

Mike Sandru — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 19:21:04 +0000

Google announced free software that allows users to monitor their home electricity use and mitigate the effects of global warming, without paying anything extra for the effort.

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