Google

The company said it “matched” its electricity use with renewables purchased globally

The head of Google believes artificial intelligence (AI) will be a bigger deal than electricity. Speaking at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland last week, Sundar Pichai said the technology will save humanity instead of destroying it. He believes AI could eliminate many of the constraints the world currently faces, helping make “clean, […]

Google is now sharing air pollution information gathered by sensors on its Street View cars. The project originally aimed to detect methane leaks from old gas pipes and other sources so they could be closed off – the greenhouse gas is around 84 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Other sensors now also measure levels […]

Google has entered the race for nuclear fusion technology with a US firm. The search engine giant and Tri Alpha Energy, backed by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, have developed a new computer algorithm which has helped speed up experiments on plasmas – which are ultra-hot balls of gas. Nuclear fusion, which generates huge amounts of […]

Google is extending its ‘Project Sunroof’ tool into Germany in a partnership with E.ON. The move from the technology giant and energy firm marks the first time the solar viability calculator has been available outside the US. Google’s technology, which allows householders to easily determine their home’s potential solar capacity, will cover around seven million buildings […]

Google has unveiled a new tool to calculate the solar viability of rooftops. ‘Project Sunroof’ uses Google Earth imagery to allow anyone to look up their own home and see whether its worth investing in rooftop solar panels. The software takes into account the shape of roofs, local weather patterns, the position of sun in the sky at different times […]

Google has teamed up with a Game of Thrones star to highlight the impacts on climate change. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, best known for his role as Jaime Lannister in the series, went to Greenland with Google Street View to document the “changing landscape” of the region. The newly-appointed UN Goodwill Ambassador says the effects of climate […]

Google’s data centres and offices will be powered 100% by renewables by 2017. The search engine giant said it will buy solar and wind electricity annually to run its global operations. The firm claims it is the world’s largest corporate buyer of renewable energy as it has contracted to purchase a total of 2.6GW of […]

Google and Philips are among the companies that have committed to source power from renewable energy projects in the Netherlands. The two organisations, alongside firms AzkoNobel and DSM, have agreed to source a total of 350 million kWh of electricity a year from a wind farm that is expected to become operational by 2019. That […]

Modern Brits are more likely to ask the internet for help with household tasks than family members. New research from uSwitch.com reveals Google, YouTube and Siri are more popular options than Mum or Dad when learning how to perform basic jobs like bleeding radiators or turning off the gas supply. Amongst young adults, 28% say they would […]