Google Energy Becomes Real: Search Company Can Now Buy And Sell Power
Google has their hands in quite a few things. Internet, Web searches, e-mail, mobile operating systems, netbook operating systems, social networking, and the list goes on and on. But we definitely didn't see this one coming. Google has just announced that their have been given clearance to buy and sell energy. Yes, energy. As in, power that makes you things work.
This past week, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission gave Google authority to "buy and sell electricity in bulk like any other utility," which sounds pretty weird given Google's normal cup of tea. But it may not be as strange as you'd think. Google has a lot of data centers, and it's having to buy power from all sorts of energy companies, probably at rates that Google would love to see lowered. The solution? Cut out the middleman, so to speak.
Those within Google that have spoken out about the announcement confess that the company is not planning or hoping to get into the energy sales business. Rather, they want to be able to "better manage their own energy costs, [and] to possibly add electricity marketer to its repertoire of services." Google Energy may very well setup solar farms or other energy generating facilities that could power Google's data centers, and many reports have noted that this isn't very unusual for larger companies looking to better assess, manage and maintain their own energy costs.
Still, at this point it's tough to think of what Google can't do. They have managed to infiltrate nearly every aspect of our lives at this point, and the sky really does feel like the limit. Google could one day serve you electricity and best-in-class search results? Pretty wild.
This past week, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission gave Google authority to "buy and sell electricity in bulk like any other utility," which sounds pretty weird given Google's normal cup of tea. But it may not be as strange as you'd think. Google has a lot of data centers, and it's having to buy power from all sorts of energy companies, probably at rates that Google would love to see lowered. The solution? Cut out the middleman, so to speak.
Those within Google that have spoken out about the announcement confess that the company is not planning or hoping to get into the energy sales business. Rather, they want to be able to "better manage their own energy costs, [and] to possibly add electricity marketer to its repertoire of services." Google Energy may very well setup solar farms or other energy generating facilities that could power Google's data centers, and many reports have noted that this isn't very unusual for larger companies looking to better assess, manage and maintain their own energy costs.
Still, at this point it's tough to think of what Google can't do. They have managed to infiltrate nearly every aspect of our lives at this point, and the sky really does feel like the limit. Google could one day serve you electricity and best-in-class search results? Pretty wild.
