From federal approval to buy and sell clean energy, to development of a cheaper solar thermal mirror prototype, Google is intent on greening the world.

Like it or not, Google is almost synonymous with the internet. Could it be they’re shooting for a similar equation when it comes to Google and clean energy? On the heels of the announcement that Google  received federal approval to buy and sell clean energy at wholesale prices, we’re now hearing details of the the internet search giant’s offline search for cheaper mirrors for solar thermal power plants.

One of the main obstacles to the viability of solar thermal power plants is the high price tag attached to the mirrors these power plants need to work. Mirrors help focus the sun’s rays on a substance that heats in order to turn a turbine that creates electricity. Google is working on a prototype they say will cut mirror costs in half.

Research into solar thermal mirrors is part of Google’s Renewable Energy Cheaper Than Coal program, just one of many of Google’s clean energy initiatives, including:

• Recharge IT, aimed at accelerating the adoption of plug-in vehicles and “smart charging” applications
• Google PowerMeter, a device allowing people to see detailed home energy information in near real-time right on their computer
• Clean Energy 2030, a commitment to helping wean the U.S. off electricity produced by coal and oil within 20 years time
• Solar Panels, powering Google facilities with 9,212 solar panels that produce 1.6 MW of electricity – enough to power approximately 1,000 average California homes

It’s also worth noting that Google was the first customer of the Bloom Box, the new fuel cell technology that creates electricity by combining oxygen with natural gas, bio-gas or solar power.

Personally, I”m fascinated with Google’s ability to creatively and consistently tap into our needs and interests, online and off. However, I cannot shake my mother’s warning that Google knows too much already, as she loves to cite a TV special in which one critic noted we tell Google’s search box things we wouldn’t tell our best friend. With systems like the PowerMeter, for example, do we want Google knowing every detail of how we’re using energy too?

Meredith Simonds Solar clean energy, federal approval, google, internet, mirrors, PowerMeter, prototype, solar thermal