Random Thoughts of Chris Tilley

Found a news article talking about Google giving grants 'to drive toward a plug-in revolution'. They gave a total of $1,000,000. They are also converting their fleet over to plug in hybrids and have a website that compares two Toyota Prius Hybrids Vs two that have been converted to plug in hybrids. You can compare them here. You can drill down to the vehicle and the individual trip. Quite cool and it should nicely demonstrate the savings both in money and in CO2.

The conversion were done by a company called Hymotion. They make conversion kits for the Toyota Prius Hybrid and the Ford Escape Hybrid. They are going to be available to consumers in early 2008. Looks like another company to follow. Their latest project is a hydrogen powered ice resurfacer for ice rinks.

Going back to Google, that 1.6 Mw solar energy system I talked about in a prior post is up and running. They have a website that show how much they have generated today, last 7 days and since June 18th. Today they generated 9900kwh and hit a peak of 1223kW.

Interesting to see what Google is doing with the all the power and money they have.