Web Hosting Goes Green - Google’s Green Side

It should come as no surprise that Google has found itself on the list of Global Green 100 nominees. The company, which is perhaps the most famously green on the list, was investing a lot of money in solar technology before it became popular to do so.

Google utilizes many green practices in the running of their everyday business, but as we’ll soon learn, they also invest literally millions of dollars in green technology the world over. As far back as 2006, Google announced that they had plans to partially power their huge data centers with solar power. Since then, they’ve installed 1.6 megawatts of solar photovoltaic panels at their headquarters in Mountain View; the panels cover the roofs of buildings and as it stands, it is the largest solar installation on any corporate campus in the United States. Google also launched the Summer of Green website to help people travel in an environmentally friendly way.

As previously discussed, these types of endeavors are not only the right thing to do, but they save the company millions of dollars in energy costs as well. That being said, the savings the company makes will come nowhere near to offsetting the cost of maintenance of the solar panels themselves. It’s safe to assume that Google has a genuine interest in the environment, reducing their carbon footprint, and helping to reverse some of the severe damage that has been done to the earth in the last hundred years.

Google also invests an enormous amount of money in clean energy. Recently, the company made a $15 million investment to support Makani Power Inc. , which specializes in high-altitude wind energy extraction technologies aimed at producing utility-scale power cheaper than coal. Other investments include $6.25 million to AltaRock Energy Inc. , which will use the money for EGS technologies and project development in order to support the advancement of enhanced geothermal systems. Another in a long list of Google’s green philanthropic contributions includes a $239,504 grant to San Diego University, which will use the money to develop a small particle solar receiver that can absorb concentrated sunlight directly into a gas to operate a Brayton cycle system and generate electricity.

Using Google as your search engine every day doesn’t really contribute towards the green movement, but major global companies, such as Google, should be applauded. There are countless corporations that exist and make no efforts whatsoever to become more environmentally conscious. Google has proven to be more than generous with their money when it pertains to research that will help people lead a more sustainable lifestyle.

That being said, the true heroes of the corporate green movement are websites such as Online4Earth, whose yearly revenue is probably not even a fraction of what Google makes in a month. Choosing, as Online4Earth has done, to donate a portion of their proceeds to green endeavors both locally and globally speaks volumes as to the character of the site’s creator. Choosing to subsidize a solar energy project in Montana, where the site’s headquarters are located, will make an immediate difference for low income families in the area. Offsetting their carbon production by donating to reforestation projects in Kenya is also going above and beyond what we’ve come to expect from most American companies.

Not only is it greatly contributing to the fledgling green movement in other countries, but it also sets an excellent example for larger companies who have all of the money and resources imaginable, but fail miserably when it comes to giving back to the earth from which they’ve taken so much. Another definite perk for sites that have chosen to go green, such as Online4Earth, is that users who support the site by handing over their hard-earned money for web hosting services know that their money is going to a good cause that benefits not just the users of the site, but everyone on planet earth. It’s definitely time for both small websites and global companies alike to jump on the green bandwagon.