Google has received federal approval to buy and sell energy on the open market, giving it more options for the way it powers its data centers and opening the door to a potential move into the energy-trading business.
Google applied for the authorization last December through a wholly owned subsidiary called Google Energy. The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved its application Thursday, granting Google “market-based rate authorization,” or the authority to buy and sell energy on a wholesale basis.
“We made this filing so we can have more flexibility in procuring power for Google’s own operations, including our data centers,” Google spokeswoman Niki Fenwick said via e-mail.
Here is FERC’s order granting Google the authorization:
Via the EPW website, here is the agenda for the first hearing:
Full Committee hearing entitled, “Legislative Hearing on S. 1733, Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act.”
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
09:30 AM EDT
EPW Hearing Room – 406 Dirksen
Witnesses
Opening Remarks
Panel 1
The Honorable John F. Kerry
United States Senator (D-MA)
Panel 2
The Honorable Steven Chu
Secretary
United States Department of Energy
The Honorable Ray LaHood
Secretary
United States Department of Transportation
The Honorable Ken Salazar
Secretary
United States Department of the Interior
The Honorable Lisa Jackson
Administrator
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The Honorable Jon Wellinghoff
Chairman
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) and Wind on the Wires (WOW) have filed a protest with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to stop a proposal by the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator (MISO) — one that would dramatically change the way costs are distributed for new transmission lines.
Gavin Newsom is a compelling advocate for cutting edge clean energy technologies. Here he is last week:
Gavin also has a great piece up on Huffington Post. Critically, he lays out a point by point plan for what the Federal government should do to facilitate “Ocean Energy”:
Federal leadership on ocean energy is crucial because virtually every site where ocean power is likely to be tested or deployed is subject to federal jurisdiction. Unlike conventional wind and solar, ocean power cannot be tested or deployed on private land. The industry will only emerge and mature in the U.S. if the federal government uses its position to advance the technology.
Federal government action should include:
1. Federal policies to facilitate ocean power demonstration projects as a first step toward commercial development of ocean power.
2. FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) and MMS (Minerals Management Service) should resolve their jurisdictional dispute and clarify their respective authorities for regulation of ocean energy. This is already underway.
3. Federal and state regulatory agencies should compile existing information on ocean power (data collected to date, etc.) into a publicly accessible common library.
4. Beginning in 2009, federal and state governments should vastly increase R&D to study, monitor and report on common impacts of ocean energy so that these issues can be efficiently addressed for each project.
5. State and federal regulatory policy should explicitly encourage pilot and demonstration-scale projects under permitting conditions, which assure protection of ocean resources.
6. Federal and state regulatory agencies should prepare a unified environmental document for each application for deployment of demonstration projects, and should otherwise coordinate their permitting procedures.
7. Decisions on individual applications should advance the public interest by increasing renewable generation capacity and effectively protecting the affected ocean resources.
Faced with a choice between a downward spiral of environmental degradation and increased reliance on a finite resource or investing in safe, renewable energy that can power our country and save our planet, the choice should be clear.
