Google, GE team up on cleantech

Mountain View, Calif.-based Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) has announced a policy and development collaboration with Fairfield, Conn's General Electric (NYSE: GE) to improve power generation, transmission and distribution in the U.S.

Under the smart grid partnership, Google said the companies plan to work together to develop and deploy renewable energy and plug-in vehicle related technologies.

"We'll start by working together in Washington, D.C., to mount a major policy effort to enable large-scale deployment of renewable energy generation in the United States," said Michael Terrell of Google.org on Google's official blog.

"We'll also work on development and deployment of the 'smart' electricity grid that will empower consumers, utilities, and technology innovators to manage electricity more efficiently and lower their carbon footprint."

The team up will go beyond just smart grid implementation, with Google saying the companies plan to work together on enhanced geothermal systems, which could provide base-load power, as well as technologies that can enable the large-scale integration of plug-in vehicles into the grid.

Last month, Google's philanthropic arm, Google.org, invested over $10 million in enhanced geothermal as part of its Renewable Energy Cheaper than Coal initiative (see Google pushes for enhanced geothermal). The philanthropic group has also made significant investments in plug-in vehicle technology, as well as solar and wind.

Google said it plans to work with GE on enhanced geothermal technologies such as reservoir visualization and power conversion, and plug-in technologies including software, controls and services that help utilities enhance grid stability and integrate plug-in vehicles and renewable energy into the grid.