generating a gigawatt of renewable electricity at a cost below electricity from coal-fired power plants. Google.org will be a partner in this ambitious endeavor by providing funding for companies and projects with promising, scalable and potentially breakthrough energy technologies. Two of the early-stage companies we've begun to work with to drive down the costs of renewable energy are eSolar Inc. and Makani Power. We're looking for more strategic investments, so please write to us at renewables@google.com if you're working on this problem too.
You may recall that last summer we announced an RFP (request for investment proposals) as part of our RechargeIT aiming to accelerate the adoption of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and vehicle-to-grid technology. After reviewing more than 350 applications, last week we selected just under 40 companies in categories including batteries, components and vehicle-to-grid solution to advance to the next round of review. Look for us to announce investments in some of these interesting companies during the first quarter of 2008.
Makani kite photo courtesy Makani Power.