Google green czar Weihl: U.S. needs to help green research

Google green czar Bill Weihl, pictured right, has been looking to get the search engine investing in green technologies, but has found there just isn’t that much available in which to invest.

That’s made it difficult for Google to meet the goal of leading industry toward an energy source cheaper than coal.

It takes a lot of investment to develop cutting-edge green technology, and that’s one area the U.S. government could help. It’s the sort of investment that could lead to big breakthroughs, big business and a lot of new jobs. So far, though, Weihl said the U.S. hasn’t done enough to help spur on green initiatives.

“I’d like to see $20 billion or $30 billion for 10 years,” he told Reuters. “That would be fabulous. It’s pretty clear what we have seen isn’t enough.”

So to push the sector forward, Google is taking matters into its own hands. At the Reuters Global Climate and Alternative Energy Summit, Weihl told the audience Google is attempting to develop a new type of mirror to track the sun – one that is cheaper and works better.

Currently, he said, it costs between $2.50 and $4 in capital costs for just one watt.

“So a 250 megawatt installation would be $600 million to a $1 billion,” he told Reuters.

It’s positive movement, at least, to see a big company with a well-known name stick its neck out to help green investment. And Google isn’t just complaining about what others aren’t doing, the company is jumping in the game with major investments of its own.

But the U.S. government should get the message loud and clear: Google would have invested in many more businesses with a large chunk of cash by now if there were more companies off the ground.

This is our chance to get ahead of the game with developing the technologies that will eventually power our future. Google gets it, but will other companies and the government recognize the same potential?