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RE: Newslink: Google to be powered 100% by renewable energy from 2017
Entirely possible, but at the scale they operate at, it could be entirely possible for them to pull it off and make it efficient. As far as most companies go Google hold very little debt and can afford to operate at a loss on projects it believes will be effective long-term
Yes, it could be possible, but the article linked to says, NO.
It says that Boogle has made contracts with energy suppliers of renewable energy for their electricity. Since that is mostly solar, and some wind; and no hydro-dynamic storage (see my post) or hot salt baths... then there is very little actual renewable energy at night. So, they are buying energy that is actually produced during the day, and shipped to someone else, and then actually getting energy at night from coal fired power plants.
Its like someone with a line-tie solar panels saying they are off-grid. They are not. They are just an small energy producer and if the grid goes down, they are too. Its a technical detail when everything is hunky-dory, but it means everything to the planet.
very fair point, and it may end up meaning far less than it should, but at the very least i'd say that any increased market demand for clean energy is a good thing globally