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Google Explains Why The Future Of Energy Is Green
http://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelkanellos/2013/03/20/google-explains-why-the-future-of-energy-is-green/
Michael Kanellos, Contributor
Green Tech | 3/20/2013
Google Explains Why The Future Of Energy Is Green
Google isn’t investing billions into clean energy projects only to feel good and make employees happy.
The company is doing it because the bottomline results are supported by data.
“While fossil-based prices are on a cost curve that goes up, renewable prices are on this march downward,” said Rick Needham, director of energy and sustainability at Google, during a presentation at the Cleantech Forum taking place in San Francisco. Even if you factor in how fracking has reduced the cost of gas in many regions, the pricing trends generally point toward renewables.
The reason, one could argue, centers on the energy source. The renewable industry revolves around developing and mass manufacturing technologies—efficient turbines, solar panels—to harvest somewhat limitless, omnipresent natural resources. The fossil industry revolves around applying technology to tapping resources that are much harder to extract. Hence, fossil fuels tend to be more volatile in price. (Think of it: you wake up because of the sun every day, not because of the stench from a passing methane cloud.)
Some of his data points:
- 49% of the new capacity commissioned in the U.S. in 2012 was renewable. 10GW of that new capacity, or 40%, came from wind. More wind capacity was installed than natural gas capacity last year in the U.S. Wind outpaced coal by 2X.
- The “capacity factor” or the percentage of time that wind turbines are active has increased, he added. Capacity factors now hit 50 percent, thanks to better site selection and improved turbine efficiency. In the past, capacity factor was closer to 30%. Wind farms in optimal sites in the Midwest can produce power for 5 cents a kilowatt hour, and that’s before federal tax credits, he said.
- The levelized cost of energy (LCOE) from solar plants in the U.S. dropped by 28% in the past year. Solar panels have dropped in price by 80 percent over the last five years.
- Solar will soon be at cost parity in many markets in the world. Parity is already being achieved in Italy, Spain and Australia.
<snip>
Michael Kanellos, Contributor
Green Tech | 3/20/2013
Google Explains Why The Future Of Energy Is Green
Google isn’t investing billions into clean energy projects only to feel good and make employees happy.
The company is doing it because the bottomline results are supported by data.
“While fossil-based prices are on a cost curve that goes up, renewable prices are on this march downward,” said Rick Needham, director of energy and sustainability at Google, during a presentation at the Cleantech Forum taking place in San Francisco. Even if you factor in how fracking has reduced the cost of gas in many regions, the pricing trends generally point toward renewables.
The reason, one could argue, centers on the energy source. The renewable industry revolves around developing and mass manufacturing technologies—efficient turbines, solar panels—to harvest somewhat limitless, omnipresent natural resources. The fossil industry revolves around applying technology to tapping resources that are much harder to extract. Hence, fossil fuels tend to be more volatile in price. (Think of it: you wake up because of the sun every day, not because of the stench from a passing methane cloud.)
Some of his data points:
- 49% of the new capacity commissioned in the U.S. in 2012 was renewable. 10GW of that new capacity, or 40%, came from wind. More wind capacity was installed than natural gas capacity last year in the U.S. Wind outpaced coal by 2X.
- The “capacity factor” or the percentage of time that wind turbines are active has increased, he added. Capacity factors now hit 50 percent, thanks to better site selection and improved turbine efficiency. In the past, capacity factor was closer to 30%. Wind farms in optimal sites in the Midwest can produce power for 5 cents a kilowatt hour, and that’s before federal tax credits, he said.
- The levelized cost of energy (LCOE) from solar plants in the U.S. dropped by 28% in the past year. Solar panels have dropped in price by 80 percent over the last five years.
- Solar will soon be at cost parity in many markets in the world. Parity is already being achieved in Italy, Spain and Australia.
<snip>
