Washington (Platts)--19Aug2008

Online information giant Google on Tuesday said it plans to invest more
than $10.25 million in a new geothermal energy technology as part of its goal
to develop 1,000 MW of renewable energy capacity in the next few years.

Google's philanthropic arm, Google.org, will fund research on new
technologies for geothermal development as well as "next-generation"
geothermal resource mapping and a policy agency for geothermal energy, the
company said in a statement.

In so-called Enhanced Geothermal Systems, the conditions needed for
geothermal generation of naturally occurring pockets of steam and hot water
are replicated by fracturing hot rock, circulating water through the system
and using the resulting steam to produce electricity in conventional turbines.

"EGS could be the 'killer app' of the energy world," said Dan Reicher,
Director of Climate and Energy Initiatives for Google.org. "It has the
potential to deliver vast quantities of power 24/7 and be captured nearly
anywhere on the planet. And it would be a perfect complement to intermittent
sources like solar and wind."

Google.org will provide $6.25 million to AltaRock Energy to improve the
performance of EGS. Petter Drilling will receive $4 million to develop new
drilling techniques for the technology.

An additional grant for $489,521 will go to Southern Methodist University
Geothermal Lab to study geothermal resources and update geothermal mapping in
North America, the company said.

Google.org is also focusing on advanced solar thermal and wind energy
systems as part of the initiative it announced in 2007 to develop enough
renewable energy capacity to power a city the size of San Francisco.