Google's Custom Solar Technology Will Reduce Costs by 60%

Google's developing new solar tech that will drop the cost from 18 cents a kW-h to just under 5. At least, it's hoping to.

Just like everybody else, Google's disappointed by the industry's lack of innovation so they've decided just to do it themselves. At least that's what Google's Bill Weihl said today at the Global Climate and Alternative Energy Summit hosted by Reuter's right here in San Francisco.

Not too surprising. Google builds its own servers since commercial servers are too expensive. The company makes cheap janky ones and just lets its homegrown software handle the outages.

Google engineers have primarily been focused on solar thermal technology. Weihl hopes they can cut the cost of making heliostats by at least a factor of two, but "ideally a factor of three or four."

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http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/09/google-custom-solar-technology-will-reduce-costs-by-60-percent.php