Google.org, the philanthropic arm of the Internet search giant, has announced a $4.4 trillion plan to wean the United States off fossil fuels by 2030, the Sacramento Business Journal reports.
The Clean Energy 2030 proposal calls for a 38 percent cut in the amount of oil used for vehicle fuels; raising the automobile fuel efficiency standard from 31 mpg to 45 mpg; increasing the use of plug-in hybrids and electric cars; replacing combustion engine cars in business fleets much faster; and improving electrical energy efficiency. The plan also calls for replacing all power generation plants that use coal and oil and half of those that use natural gas with wind, solar, and geothermal sources of power. Although the cost of the plan is significant, the company estimates that it could save approximately $1 trillion while creating new jobs over the next twenty years.
The plan will build on several commitments already made by Google.org to advance clean energy, including $45 million through its Renewable Energy Cheaper than Coal initiative to companies with breakthrough wind, solar, and geothermal technologies. In addition, Google recently announced a partnership with General Electric to lobby Washington lawmakers to do more to support the development of alternative energy sources.
"Right now we have a real opportunity to transform our economy from one running on fossil fuels to one largely based on clean energy," said Jeffery Greenblatt, climate and energy technology manager for Google.org and author of the plan. "Technologies and know-how to accomplish this are either available today or are under development."
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