Google Lays Out $4.4 Trillion U.S. Energy Plan

Written by Jennifer Kho

At a speech in San Francisco on Wednesday, Google (GOOG Quote) CEO Eric Schmidt proposed a new energy plan for the U.S. that the company claims could reduce fossil fuel-based energy generation by 88 percent.

The plan calls for the replacement of all coal- and oil-fired electricity generation with natural gas and renewable electricity, including a whopping 380 gigawatts of wind power, 250 gigawatts of solar power and 80 gigawatts of geothermal power.

Other elements of the plan include reducing energy use 33 percent via energy-efficiency measures, boosting sales of plug-in hybrid vehicles to 90 percent of new car sales in 2030, increasing the average fuel efficiency of conventional vehicles from 31 miles per gallon to 45 miles per gallon in 2030 and turning over the country's current fleet of vehicles more quickly so that cars are driven only 13 years, instead of an average of 19 years today. ...