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Before the theories start going too crazy, I'm going to venture a guess that this has to do with their datacenters. Didn't google build a hydroelectric dam som

by blhack 17y ago

Before the theories start going too crazy, I'm going to venture a guess that this has to do with their datacenters. Didn't google build a hydroelectric dam somewhere in the northwest to power one? I'm guessing they're just looking to sell off the excess energy they're producing at places like that, I doubt they're looking to become your utility company.

warfangle 17y ago
Very true. This is probably just so they can negotiate for cheaper power for their datacenters, and sell excess power if they build their own plants. Here's to hoping they can cut through the nuclear red tape and build a LFTR reactor. If they can get one of those off the ground and powering one of their datacenters, it would prove to the world that nuclear power shouldn't have the stigma it does.
mbreese 17y ago
I thought it was so they could better buy energy from renewable resources. They've always put datacenters in locations with excess electrical capacity, but this makes it possible for them to offset their potentially dirty (coal) electricity usage with cleaner energy elsewhere.
- smallblacksun 17y ago
  This is 100% about saving money, not being green.
fnid2 17y ago
IIRC, they didn't build that dam, they simply built a data center near it. It was near the dalles in oregon, if that's the one you're talking about. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/14/technology/14search.html http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/14/technology/14search.html I don't believe they want to start building power plants. I believe they want to be able to buy energy wholesale to lower their energy costs by buying power directly and avoiding middleman markup.
- cdibona 17y ago
  I would point out that we have investments in solar thermal, geothermal and EGS (hot dry rock) power generation technologies. That said, I don't think this is about that.
rayvega 17y ago
It certainly has to do with their data centers. It is not unusual for a company to take over handling one of their dependencies to reduce risk and cost. If they do it as good or better than others already established in that market, then the smarter companies will turn around and convert that into a revenue generating business which on the surface does not appear connected with their original core business. Amazon did exactly that with cloud storage and EC2. The difference is that unlike the energy industry which is regulated they did not need to get the gov't's permission. Similarly, its just a matter of time before Apple starts selling on the open market the processor chip they developed exclusively for the IPad.

by blhack 17y ago

warfangle 17y ago

Very true. This is probably just so they can negotiate for cheaper power for their datacenters, and sell excess power if they build their own plants. Here's to hoping they can cut through the nuclear red tape and build a LFTR reactor. If they can get one of those off the ground and powering one of their datacenters, it would prove to the world that nuclear power shouldn't have the stigma it does.

mbreese 17y ago

I thought it was so they could better buy energy from renewable resources. They've always put datacenters in locations with excess electrical capacity, but this makes it possible for them to offset their potentially dirty (coal) electricity usage with cleaner energy elsewhere.

smallblacksun 17y ago
This is 100% about saving money, not being green.

fnid2 17y ago

IIRC, they didn't build that dam, they simply built a data center near it. It was near the dalles in oregon, if that's the one you're talking about. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/14/technology/14search.html http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/14/technology/14search.html I don't believe they want to start building power plants. I believe they want to be able to buy energy wholesale to lower their energy costs by buying power directly and avoiding middleman markup.

cdibona 17y ago
I would point out that we have investments in solar thermal, geothermal and EGS (hot dry rock) power generation technologies. That said, I don't think this is about that.

rayvega 17y ago

It certainly has to do with their data centers. It is not unusual for a company to take over handling one of their dependencies to reduce risk and cost. If they do it as good or better than others already established in that market, then the smarter companies will turn around and convert that into a revenue generating business which on the surface does not appear connected with their original core business. Amazon did exactly that with cloud storage and EC2. The difference is that unlike the energy industry which is regulated they did not need to get the gov't's permission. Similarly, its just a matter of time before Apple starts selling on the open market the processor chip they developed exclusively for the IPad.