Google diversifying to other projects from their cash cow, search advertising, is nothing new per se. With all the cash and the great market valuation that they have, Google can afford to have lots of services and projects that don’t really directly generate any revenue to them. A lot of these services have been quite neat and useful for the consumers – like Google Earth for instance. But now their newest diversification strategy is taking them into a completely different ballgame; energy production.
You have to hand it to Google, they’re not lacking in ambition. Check out the press release from yesterday:
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.
Full press release here. Can you imagine any other ICT-company sending out such a press release and surviving the ridicule and skepticism?
I hope they pull it off and that RE<C will be wildly successful.
Definately a good that a company is investing in renewable energy.
10yield.com