Google Hacks Power Regulators to Build Greener Grid

Google has figured out a brand new way to get cleaner power into old-fashioned power grids. It’s hacking the regulators.

The company has cooked up a plan with North Carolina’s Duke Energy that will let companies like Google pay for cleaner energy — something that’s surprisingly tricky to do thanks to the regulatory restrictions in certain states.

Google wants to introduce a new class of product to North Carolina’s tightly regulated energy market that would allow Duke to sell large volumes of clean energy power at a different rate from the rest of its grid. It gives Google a green alternative to Duke’s grid, which is largely powered by coal and nuclear power.

By Robert McMillan

Full Story: http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2013/04/google-lenoir/