Image courtesy of Google

The effort, known as RE<C (“meaning renewable energy less than coal”), will initially focus on scalable, cost competitive technologies, such as advanced solar thermal power, high altitude wind power, and enhanced geothermal systems.

Google’s ambitious 2008 New Years Resolution expects to spend tens of millions of dollars on RE<C research and development, whilst investing hundreds of millions of dollars in breakthrough renewable energy projects that generate unsubsidized positive returns.

They have also installed a 1.6 Megawatt corporate solar panel installation in their Silicon Valley headquarters (one of the largest in the U.S.), not to mention the company is developing a fleet of plug-in vehicles, while eco-GoogleMaps features displays like public transit routes and sea level rise queries. 

The next natural step, within Google’s expansionary limits, is to take Renewable Energy R&D to the masses. Who better than Google to steer such a visionary path? As Larry Page, Google’s Co-founder and President of Products, explains, "We want to apply the same creativity and innovation to the challenge of generating renewable electricity at globally significant scale, and produce it cheaper than from coal."

RE<C ultimately plans to build off of existing work in renewables, and help mature industries on the brink of cost-competitiveness. By working with a variety of other organizations, R&D labs, and universities, Google claims RE<C can happen in years, as opposed to decades.

This newly founded role as a renewable energy R&D company will no doubt bring a unique, demonstrative voice to the cleantech industry. With its enormous mass communications capacity and ability to hire the best and brightest research teams, Google is staking a niche that the U.S. government has bypassed over the past seven years.

Clean tech investments are rising in the US. Over three billion dollars were invested in 2007, the highest figure yet, and a significant increase over 2006. Yet scientists, economists, and environmentalists feel that much more is needed. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change released a document on Financing Climate Change which calls for over $100 billion to be shifted to renewables over the next twenty years.

As climate discussions carry on at the Bali UN meetings, will U.S. officials step up to the plate with a complementary policy for Google’s cleantech research? To this end, will we as individuals match Google’s leadership with the energy efficiency of our cars, buildings, and companies? To fight global warming, a green electricity revolution will require all of us.