It has long been known that going green has some serious benefits. However, when a big company like Google wants companies and individuals to pay attention in the field of clean technology innovation, it is definitely something worth thinking more about.
Many companies aren’t yet completely aware of all the benefits that clean technology research and innovation could have. In fact, Google has some assertive and positive claims to make about clean energy innovation which could ultimately help in convincing many that research in this area is not only a logical thing, but is also something that desperately requires more attention.
One of the things that make Google’s claims quite interesting is its simplicity in approach. Many of the statistics that are used here are very easy to understand. Take for example, the study pertaining to hybrid vehicles. There are a lot of different cars in the market that fall in this category but their impact is not really as significant as one might imagine for the near future. In fact, these cars can have a big change only around the year 2050, based on data analyzed by Google. Due to limitations of battery technology, the cost of such vehicles is still somewhat prohibitive and applications are usually limited.
If breakthrough battery technology is researched and discovered in time, Google estimates that oil consumption could drop by as much as 90% or 1.1 billion barrels, which is almost a third of the amount of oil produced in North America. Â Cost benefits of clean energy innovation are also not restricted to vehicles. The study estimates that there could be an additional GDP of as much as $155 billion by switching over to cleaner energy sources. This directly results in a decrease on foreign oil reserves, which could plummet to only 74% of what is being used right now.
Google is doing its part in clean energy as well, by making use of some of the most advanced technologies in the market right now. In fact, the carbon footprint of data centers run by Google is almost 50% lower than what is acceptable by the EPA norms. With a Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of nearly 1, it seems like Google is one of the few companies in the world to be using almost all the power that is entering the data center. PUE of other company data centers can be as much as 1.2, which means that there is 20% wastage of power in these facilities.
It is not just about the money saved; it is also about the added income and jobs in the market. Google estimates that clean energy initiatives could add as many as 1.1 million jobs in the market, which could bring down unemployment.
Based on Google’s research, it seems quite clear that there are a lot of opportunities out there worth looking into for businesses. Additionally. unless there is more impetus with clean energy innovation, the resources that are being used today could lead us much further down a dangerous and wasteful path.
Image CC licensed by jurvetson: The Goopleplex rooftops and car parks in Silicon Valley — blanketed in solar cells.
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