Google to save the planet?

Google has said it will invest tens of millions of dollars in research and hundreds of millions of dollars in green energy technology firms.

"We are so excited about this because we've seen technologies that can mature into really worthwhile industries that haven't been talked about enough," Google co-founder Larry Page said.

The initiative is dubbed RE. Page said green electricity costing less per kilowatt than coal can be brought to market in "years not decades."

"Climate change affects health and makes it hard for people in the developing world to escape poverty," said executive director Larry Brilliant. "We want Google to be part of the solution."

Google is on track to be carbon neutral by year's end and has converted some company hybrid cars to "plug-in" electric vehicles.

Google said once it achieves its goal of producing green energy, with solar and high-altitude wind generation seeming the most viable at the start, it will sell electricity back to the power grid. Google does not plan to become a green power company but will license out successful technologies and partner with businesses in the field.

It follows media mogul Ted Turner in being a convert to renewables entrepreneurship.

> World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) piece on the topic