Green Daily

Google is one of the biggest names in internet business. The company has the world's most popular search engine, a hugely successful advertising platform, and a whole slew of other cyberspace services. Now Google is trying to tackle a real world problem: our reliance on non-renewable fuel.

The company today announced a new research initiative with a pretty ambitious goal: to develop technologies that will bring the price of renewable energy down below the price of coal. The initiative is cleverly titled RE>C, which stands for renewable energy cheaper than coal.

The company is hiring engineers and energy experts to take part in a multi-million dollar research project focusing on solar, geothermal, wind, and other renewable energy sources. Google expects to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on research. In the long run, if Google is successful, the company will probably reap returns from royalties.

What does Google have to do with renewable energy? Co-founder Larry Page says the company has developed expertise in building large-scale energy efficient data centers. And if they can do it the planet can. Or something like that. The internet company doesn't plan to do all of its research in house. Google will also be providing grants and investments in companies that are working in the renewable energy field.