A Renewable Energy World, photo by Taylor Dundee

Not doing evil apparently wasn’t enough for Google, the technology superpower. The company is now also actively doing good. Recently, Google launched a new renewable energy initiative called RE<C (math-speak for renewable energy is cheaper than coal). In 2008, the company plans to invest tens of millions of dollars in renewable energy research and development and hundreds of millions more in leading edge renewable energy projects.

As Larry Brilliant explains on the Google blog,

“Lots of groups are doing great work trying to produce inexpensive renewable energy. We want to add something that moves these efforts toward even cheaper technologies a bit more quickly. Usual investment criteria may not deliver the super low-cost, clean, renewable energy soon enough to avoid the worst effects of climate change… [Google's philanthropic arm] Google.org’s hope is that by funding research on promising technologies, investing in promising new companies, and doing a lot of R&D ourselves, we may help spark a green electricity revolution that will deliver breakthrough technologies priced lower than coal.”

For more information on Google’s environmental commitments, check out Brilliant’s podcast at Social Innovation Conversations.

Will Google’s green initiatives be as golden as everything else the company has touched? Stay tuned to find out.

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