• CNET News.com, Wednesday, November 28, 2007 11 AM

Proof that green really is the new black: Google, one of the world's most recognizable companies, pledged to spend hundreds of millions on discovering, creating and using renewable sources of energy. The Web giant's extensive plans include investing in clean technology startups as well as putting tens of millions toward renewable energy research and development.

The investment could potentially be a huge money saver for Google, whose data centers consume massive amounts of electricity. The search giant wants to promote broad adoption of renewable energy sources by selling the electricity it produces or licensing the technology. Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page said the overall goal is to produce 1 gigawatt of electricity from renewable energy sources--enough to power San Francisco.

Page says that the company's main goal is to create renewable energy source that's cheaper to use than coal, hence the project name RERead the whole story at CNET News.com »