Google, not content to only use clean technology on its campuses, has decided to get involved in the solar thermal energy business. The company will work to improve the mirrors used in solar thermal systems, making them more affordable for widespread commercial and utility use.
Solar thermal power generation has been identified as one of the more feasible technologies in the renewable energy space. At most of these facilities, mirrors are used to concentrate sunlight on centralized towers where it converts water to steam to turn turbines, producing electricity. This design is much cheaper than traditional solar plants where expensive silicon cell-based panels are used to convert light to electricity directly. Google says it is actively developing a prototype for its mirrors.
The announcement doesn't come completely out of the blue for the search engine, which has been involved in renewable energy generation for a while now via its philanthropic arm, Google.org. That entity backed companies like AltaRock Energy, a geothermal firm, and solar thermal builders eSolar ($130 million) and BrightSource Energy ($115 million). What's interesting is that by entering this market, Google might end up competing with or licensing its technology back to some of its own investments. It'll be interesting to see how the business arrangements shake out.
Right now, Google is testing various materials for the mirrors, with cost and ease of manufacturing as the top priorities. It says the goal is to have a large pilot system using the resulting product in the next three years. Ideally, that demonstration facility would hit a cost of 5 cents or lower per kilowatt, giving coal-fired plants a run for their money.
It's unclear what motivated Google to take a more active role in this area. One thought is that Google could adopt solar thermal to power its energy-intensive data centers, helping the company maintain its green ideals while continuing to grow its capacity.
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