RenewableFuels
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Google's search for future profit targets the Sun, not just the cloud
These humble-looking contraptions were revealed in a Google patent application for a "heliostat control system" that automatically adjusts solar thermal mirrors to their optimal energy-harvesting angle. A camera and computer are housed in the central tower that receives heat from the mirrors, and together they detect when a heliostat is misaligned and then correct it using actuators. Sound like a strange distraction for an Internet company? Google thinks not. It's already invested $168 million in the world's largest solar tower in the Mojave Desert as part of its effort to both reduce its own massive electricity bill and diversify its business. It's also currently hiring three new technical staff to make this happen. Interested?
Ontario and Samsung seal $6.7 billion renewable energy deal
Need to know how much it would cost you and your town to generate 2,500 megawatts of pure green energy? Your wind and solar farm infrastructure costs will come to 7 billion CAD (just under 6.7 billion in US currency), which includes a 437 million CAD "sweetener" to get Samsung on board. Plenty of curmudgeons have emerged from the woodwork to trash the deal as costing above market prices, but this appears to be the largest venture of its kind, so we're not entirely sure "market prices" exist yet. For its part, Samsung will create 16,000 jobs in the area, 4,000 of them permanent, as it builds toward the stated goal of providing enough energy to fully power 4 percent of Ontario's population. [Thanks, Dan]
