Google Cloud announced a massive new partnership that could help revolutionize the clean energy industry and bring affordable, non-polluting power to the entire world.
According to a press release, Google Cloud is partnering with Project Innerspace and SLB to drive the adoption of global geothermal energy.
The partnership will utilize Google Cloud's computing services; Project Innerspace's GeoMap, which helps to map potential geothermal hotspots for interested parties; and SLB's expert consulting services to accelerate the identification and development of geothermal resources around the world.
"A central component of our theory of systemic change at Project Innerspace is the conviction that leveraging the technologies, capabilities, speed, and scale of the oil and gas industry is necessary to grow geothermal into a thriving global powerhouse," said Jamie Beard, executive director, Project Innerspace.
"Indeed, should the oil and gas industry engage in geothermal at scale, it would be transformational for global economic growth, stability, and prosperity," Beard continued.
"It is our ambition as we build on this collaboration that we shift the massive potential of geothermal from the abstract into high impact reality. It's time to get boots on the ground," he added.
Geothermal energy has a ton of potential to help solve the world's energy problems because, much like wind and solar energy, it is renewable and produces no planet-warming pollution.
The process taps into the heat emanating from the Earth's crust to provide power, and current estimations show that it can support our power needs 140 times over, second only to solar energy in terms of potential supply.
However, unlike solar and wind energy, geothermal energy requires considerable upfront investment and overhead cost, as facilities to harvest the energy need to be built, and technology to help is still in development.
On top of that, historically, finding areas where geothermal power is readily accessible has been tricky.
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No way 👎 That hasn't stopped the U.S. Air Force from testing its potential as a power source for bases in Texas, though. A plant in Utah also recently achieved record-breaking test levels in energy production, while the Colorado state government is offering grants to companies interested in getting geothermal projects off the ground.
This new partnership could go a long way toward alleviating those issues. Investing in geothermal energy on a large scale would make it more accessible and affordable, while also pushing technology forward to make collecting and utilizing it even more efficient.
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