This week, Google announced in a blog post a new $80 million investment in solar energy in California and Arizona, bringing its total investments in renewable energy since 2010 to over $1 billion. It’s just the latest step in an ongoing project by Google to keep at the forefront of the green energy industry.
In an interview with the Guardian earlier this year, Rick Needham, Google’s director of energy and sustainability, explained Google’s shift into the renewable energy industry:
“When Google thinks about sustainability, one of the big areas that we think about is energy because that’s fundamentally a core piece of what drives our company. We think what can we do as a company to make sure we’re operating sustainably and the ways we can enable a more sustainable world. We ask what can we do to get us to a place where clean energy is an option for everyone.” [The Guardian]
He adds that Google’s ultimate aim is to derive 100 percent of its energy usage from renewable sources:
“We want to be 100 percent renewable. We don’t have a date set for that target, but with our investments, we aim to move the market in that direction.” [The Guardian]
Besides attaining the dream of clean and sustainable energy, I can think of three business reasons why Google might want to go totally green.
azizonomics 
They’re already operating on a 100% renewable resource: brand & trademark searches, which have become the way most internet users navigate to sites they already know.
Google and John Aziz remain leaders in exploring new ideas! Let’s keep a couple of facts in mind as technologies and human follies unfold.
Additional evidence and expert testimony continue to debunk anthropogenic global warming, now hiding behind euphemisms “clean energy” and “climate change”.
My limited understanding confirms John’s assertion that storage is the major obstacle to growth of renewable energy. There is little or no news on storage technology research and development — by industry, government sponsored, or even Obama’s crony-capitalists.
Google is its own cartel. It controls an enormous amount of economic value without producing any of its own. They are like an information bank, another parasite feeding at the human animal.
If they go 100% green, then they do it because they feel they will profit by it, not for any moral reason.
I would love to have solar panels put on my roof. But the problem with solar panels on the roof is that they make roof repair almost impossible. In case there is leak or something. Solar panels may be cheap but maintenance cost your fortune.
http://www.finanzacritica.it/2013/11/gli-angoli-della-coperta-corta/