Google Helps Finance 'Superhighway' For Wind Power

The Washington Post ^ | Tuesday, October 12, 2010 | Debbi Wilgoren

[Stayfree]

Internet search engine giant Google is investing in a mammoth project to build an underwater "superhighway for clean energy" that would funnel power from offshore wind farms to 1.9 million homes without overtaxing the already congested mid-Atlantic power grid, the company said.

[Stayfree]

Somehow, I smell a rat named "Al"

[Sacajaweau]

This is an attack on our shores. Instead of an occasional oil rig, it sounds like we're going to see 100's of wind mills.

And when those hurricanes hit each year....no problem...the consumer will foot the bill....

[businessprofessor]

I smell huge subsidies and mandates to buy high priced power. The stench makes me sick.

[RobRoy]

There is one thing I still don’t understand about the internet: I use google constantly and surf more than most people, especially since I don’t have TV in my home.

But I have NEVER bought anything advertised on the internet. Never. Where is the money being made? I don’t get it.

[Psycho_Bunny]

Google is a company suffering from mission blur. Going in so many directions at once will probably hurt them.

[wbill]

Where is the money being made?

I'm not in advertising, but I'd guess "Volume".

Google charges a fraction of a cent per "click". Adds up.

Company that's advertising only needs to sell one widget, and that covers a whole bunch of "clicks".

Add in the fact that the advertising is directed at you, personally, based on your surfing habits, and I suppose that it's relatively effective. Well, maybe not on you, but on some people.

I, too, would need to think pretty hard as to whether I bought something based on internet advertising. I probably have, but not much.

[RobRoy]

I’ll google an item and when I find it I’ll manually type in the address rather than use google as the portal to get to the retail site.

That said, I have never bought from a google click.

[cicero2k]

All this to save a few million cubic feet of natural gas from being burned.

In most cases, natural gas is the marginal fuel that utilites will be able to avoid when it is windy. Not that the utilites can avoid have the capacity installed; because they must for when it is not windy.

So since the generating structure has to be sized as if it is not windy, becuase at times it won’t be; and natural gas is the marginal fuel; we get to not burn some natural gas sometimes.

A hefty cost/view/danger penalty to not burn a fuel that is clean and more plentiful than ever.

[antiRepublicrat]

I’m not going to knock it as long as it’s private corporations. Google’s already put over a hundred million into inexpensive photovoltaics, and they’re eating their own dogfood with solar on their properties.

[businessprofessor]

“Google’s already put over a hundred million into inexpensive photovoltaics, and they’re eating their own dogfood with solar on their properties.”

Google has undoubtedly received large subsidies and tax breaks for their investments. Rate payers and taxpayers are subsidizing their Utopian efforts. I am not talking about normal tax deductions for business expenses. I am talking about enormous tax credits and subsidies from rate payers. In addition, power generated from solar plants is forced upon consumers at high prices.

[antiRepublicrat]

Google has undoubtedly received large subsidies and tax breaks for their investments.

I don't know about subsidies for the products down the road, which there probably are. I'm talking about a company that is willing to pour hundreds of millions of dollars into R&D as opposed to the likes of Al Gore just spouting pipe dreams about renewable energy using our money.

In addition, power generated from solar plants is forced upon consumers at high prices.

I believe I mentioned that cheaper solar is one thing they invested in. The process they invested in got the cost of producing solar cells down to about $1 per Watt. Just because it has something to do with renewable energy doesn't necessarily mean it's bad.