Google’s Green Dream

Google’s Green Dream

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues

Google’s infamous Don’t Be Evil mantra has inspired some remarkable projects, including the newly launched Google Ideas, but it’s Google’s Green Dream that caught my attention this week.

 

On Friday, I sat down with Parag Chokshi, Clean Energy Public Affairs Manager, at Google’s Mountain View Headquarters. We discussed Google’s recently published report, The Impact of Clean Energy Innovation which paints a picture of green nirvana in the US economy and energy market –  if green investment and government incentives spur rapid innovation. And it’s a big IF, based on some rather optimistic assumptions, that’s why we’re calling it Google’s Green Dream.

Check out VIDEO SEGMENT HERE and TRANSCRIPT

Among the report’s predictions… By 2030, clean energy innovation will:

– boost US economic growth by $155-$244 Billion in GDP/year

– create over one million new jobs

– help electric vehicles command a 90% market share (small cars and trucks)

– save households almost $1000/year in energy bills

– reduce US oil consumption by over 1 B barrels/ year and greenhouse gases by 13-20%

The report concludes that if investment and incentives are delayed five years, the opportunity cost will be $2-3 Trillion.

Is this a realistic Green Dream by Google’s Green Czar Bill Weihl and his team? Or naive wishful thinking? Chokshi acknowledges that Google is examining some “aggressive scenarios” but underlines that the report’s purpose is to stimulate debate on how to get to this Green Dream; and to spur more investment by both the public and private sector. In this Fresh Dialogues VIDEO, Chokshi outlines the dramatic improvements in battery technology that are crucial to increasing the adoption of electric vehicles, but declined to confirm whether Google is investing its considerable financial and engineering muscle in the already crowded race to build a better EV battery. We can only speculate.

Check out the VIDEO below and read the TRANSCRIPT.

Coming soon: more Google interview segments on:

Google’s $700 M green spending spree – How Google chooses green investments

Green@Google – A day in the life of a Googler

The interview was recorded on July 8, 2011 in the Nairobi Conference Room, Building 43, Google Headquarters in Mountain View, California.

For more videos and interviews check out Fresh Dialogues policy archives and Fresh Dialogues YouTube Channel.

KR Sridhar: Bloom Energy Technology – Video exclusive

KR Sridhar: Bloom Energy Technology – Video exclusive

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues

Bloom Energy CEO KR Sridhar is a man with a mission to change the world. His fuel cell company is already powering Google, so that should make any skeptic take note. Check out  Fresh Dialogues YouTube Channel to see this exclusive interview. VIDEO LINK 

A former NASA advisor who developed technologies to sustain life on Mars, this earnest scientist is now harnessing his visionary skills and a large team of engineers to solve the energy crisis. His ambitious goal? To revolutionize the energy industry, just like cell phones revolutionized the communications industry. His team is developing  high efficiency fuel cells to provide a global distributed system of electricity supply at low cost and a low (and ultimately zero) carbon footprint. Clients include Google, eBay, Fedex and Walmart. Not too shabby.

The company has been in stealth mode for the last eight years and industry speculation has been rife about its future plans. Thanks to a CBS 60 Minutes Report by Lesley Stahl on February 21st, and the official Bloom Energy unveiling, many more details are now available of this potentially revolutionary product.

Even before opening his doors to 60 Minutes, KR agreed to discuss Bloom Energy’s progress in this exclusive and detailed Fresh Dialogues interview, recorded in 2009. To read the interview transcript click here

Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interview

 

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Why is energy the focus of KR Sridhar’s mission?

“Energy is a passport to a better living. For the rest of the world that doesn’t have access to power, to electricity; to give them that is empowering them to a better life. If your solution works and you make it affordable and you distribute it all over the world, then you have definitely changed the world….You give power to the people.”

What’s in the Bloom Box?

“It takes the chemical energy from the fuel and converts that to electrons with no in between conversion. So you are changing your currency only once. It’s an electro-chemical reaction..like a battery…but the big difference is it’s a power generator so you keep supplying the fuel in and you’ll keep getting the electrons out – most importantly without combustion. It’s a one step conversion… high efficiency…you burn less fuel – less greenhouse gases -and eliminate all the combustion related polluting gases.”

What’s the link with transportation?

“Transportation can potentially go in two directions in the future. One is a hydrogen infrastructure for the car, the other one is an electrical infrastructure for the car…plug-in hybrids…Our device can either produce the electricity that’ll charge the car or provide you hydrogen if the transportation becomes hydrogen based. So we’ve sort of become the gas station for the transportation industry.”

There are still many unanswered questions about Bloom Energy, but here are some more clues.

To check out more Fresh Dialogues VIDEO interview segments click here and check  for other Fresh Dialogues video interview segments with lots more PRODUCT AND BUSINESS PLAN DETAIL about Bloom Energy.

Robert Ballard: Titanic Explorer Talks Climate Change

Robert Ballard: Titanic Explorer Talks Climate Change

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues

Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interview

 

We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window

Check out the new Fresh Dialogues YouTube Channel more exclusive interviews.

 

Robert Ballard, the ocean explorer of Titanic fame sat down with me in Silicon Valley to discuss his expeditions, global warming, and alternative energy. This respected scientist spoke candidly about global warming -“I’ll be honest, it’s too late, all the ice is going to melt.” READ the TRANSCRIPT

On the global warming controversy: Natural cycle or Human impact?

“Hey folks: it’s both.  Whenever you have a tremendous controversy both sides tend to be right and wrong. You do have the natural interglacial warming that we’re experiencing, but you are increasing the severity of it with the human footprint.  The concern most people have is that we can’t do much about the natural cycle, but we can do a lot about the human cycle. ..if you steepen it too much, evolution can’t keep up and you get extinction.”

On being Politically Correct

“Sometimes I see this tombstone that says, “the human race came and went but it was politically correct.” As a scientist I am not politically correct. My job is not to be politically correct. My job is to call it as I see it. And I see that the biggest problem the human race has is that there are too many of us.”

On the need to reduce our carbon footprint
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