Google Invests in Geothermal Energy

There are a lot of very smart people who work at Google. And not all of them are IT experts or working on some new exotic Google application designed for Internet use. How about Google’s management team deciding to make a far sighted investment in geothermal energy? Now, in my opinion, that is putting their considerable brain power to good use.

The smart people at Google on Tuesday took the drill or not to drill debate in a different direction. Google.org announced that it is investing nearly $11 million in technology to expand the nation’s geothermal reserves. That’s more than the “no problems, don’t worry, everything’s fine” U.S. government is spending on geothermal projects this year.

“While the U.S. debates drilling in the ocean for oil, we are focused on drilling for renewable energy - and lots of it - right beneath our feet,” Google.org said in a statement, citing a Massachusetts Institute of Technology study that estimates the accessible heat below the U.S. represents more than 2,500 times the nation’s annual energy consumption.

With the case for the potential for geothermal energy so compelling why hasn’t the US government taken more interest in it? Could it have anything to do with the lobbying efforts and money passed around by big oil companies to our hardly working politicians?

Go Google. Let’s hope that your investment in such a promising area for a renewable energy resource pays off big time. If America is to be saved from sending over 700 billion dollars a year overseas to pay for imported oil it will be private industry and private investment that will carry the day.

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