Google Wants to Save the World

Google is making a step into the world of energy with their announcement today that they are embarking on smart grid technology. Smart grid is one of the hot new buzz words in the renewable world and refers to technology that will allow consumers to monitor energy usage. The goal of a smart grid would be to use the energy we already generate instead of building more power plants.

Google is announcing the rollout of PowerMeter, a free utility that will track and organize information from smart meters - devices that collect data on power usage and have the ability to restrict power. The only catch is that Google will be relying on other companies to develop these smart meters and will be relying on consumers to purchace and install them. They may get a little help from Washington, however, as the proposed stimulus package has $4.4 bil set aside for investment in smart technologies.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/10/technology/companies/10grid.html?_r=1