The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved Google's application to be an energy supplier. This could be a powerful, long term boost for the green power movement, where a combination of false prophets and doubtful consumers slow the adoption of renewable sources.
At first glance, this ruling simply appears to give Google the right to buy and sell energy. Yes, that is what Enron did, but Google and Enron have very different approaches to business. Enron was about corruption, insane risks, and hiding the truth. Google certainly does not hide the truth. Google revels in the truth - rolls around in it like it's chocolate. Arguably, that is what their PowerMeter is all about - showing you the truth about your energy use. With their free software and a $200 meter, you can see your energy use, live, 24/7.
Google's efforts as a supplier may also disrupt unscrupulous practices in energy procurement. Some procurement companies cloak their bid process in mystery and create strangling contracts that refuse to let you review energy use with any other consultants. Procurement companies may be embarassed if another company found savings they missed. While these companies do point out discrepancies in billings, they often approach it as an accounting issue, not an engineering issue. Seeing energy discrepancies is one thing - to figure out what happened, you need boots on the ground.
So, having a truth company like Google enter the energy supply business should be great, even if the power they sell is initially from a traditional energy source. In the long term, the greater question is how will they tie this to their renewable energy initiative? Will their increasing involvement in clean power help them push new technology, like the BloomBox fuel cell?
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