Looks like the renewable energy experiment Google tried was about as successful as Google Glass - in other words complete failure. Now the liberals at Google firmly believe that CO2 is the problem which I disagree with but even with that attitude they have to admit that with today's technology wind and solar are unrealistic alternatives to fossil fuel http://spectrum.ieee.org/energy/renewables/what-it-would-really-take-to-reverse-climate-change Starting in 2007, Google committed significant resources to tackle the worlds climate and energy problems. A few of these efforts proved very successful: Google deployed some of the most energy-efficient data centers in the world, purchased large amounts of renewable energy, and offset what remained of its carbon footprint. Googles boldest energy move was an effort known as RE<C, which aimed to develop renewable energy sources that would generate electricity more cheaply than coal-fired power plants do. The company announced that Google would help promising technologies mature by investing in start-ups and conducting its own internal R&D. Its aspirational goal: to produce a gigawatt of renewable power more cheaply than a coal-fired plant could, and to achieve this in years, not decades. Unfortunately, not every Google moon shot leaves Earth orbit. In 2011, the company decided that RE<C was not on track to meet its target and shut down the initiative. The two of us, who worked as engineers on the internal RE<C projects, were then forced to reexamine our assumptions. Unfortunately, not every Google moon shot leaves Earth orbit. In 2011, the company decided that RE<C was not on track to meet its target and shut down the initiative. The two of us, who worked as engineers on the internal RE<C projects, were then forced to reexamine our assumptions. At the start of RE<C, we had shared the attitude of many stalwart environmentalists: We felt that with steady improvements to todays renewable energy technologies, our society could stave off catastrophic climate change. We now know that to be a false hopebut that doesnt mean the planet is doomed. As we reflected on the project, we came to the conclusion that even if Google and others had led the way toward a wholesale adoption of renewable energy, that switch would not have resulted in significant reductions of carbon dioxide emissions. Trying to combat climate change exclusively with todays renewable energy technologies simply wont work; we need a fundamentally different approach. So were issuing a call to action. Theres hope to avert disaster if our society takes a hard look at the true scale of the problem and uses that reckoning to shape its priorities.
Capacity is one thing - what's the output?... Renewable energy capacity overtakes coal Tue, 25 Oct 2016 - The International Energy Agency says that the world's capacity to generate electricity from renewable sources has now overtaken coal. The IEA says in a new report that last year, renewables accounted for more than half of the increase in power capacity. The report says half a million solar panels were installed every day last year around the world.[/i]
The capacity of solar panels can be increased by 4 orders of magnitude but the output at night is still zero.
And not much better than zero on cloudy days. I live off grid and have a solar powered home but in reality it only works really well for a few months in summer. The rest of the year it provides half my power at best and in the dead of winter I run my fossil fuel powered generator a couple of hours every day. In Sunbelt states solar could work very well in small scale applications for individual homeowners, small businesses etc but the storage requirements for large scale application is just not there yet. Maybe someday but not today.
Google pledges 100% renewable energy use by 2017... Google Says Will Use 100 Percent Renewable Energy by 2017 December 06, 2016 - Search giant Google says it will use 100 percent renewable energy by 2017, according to a post on the companys blog.
Granny says Uncle Ferd always tiltin' at windmills... Wind Passes Water as US Renewable Energy Source February 09, 2017 - Wind energy has surpassed hydropower as the biggest source of renewable electricity in the United States following the sector’s second-biggest quarter ever for new installations, a wind industry trade group said Thursday.
