Renewable "green" energy is having a tough slog in the United States. While some countries, such as Germany and China, are investing huge amounts of money in renewable energy, in the U.S. things are moving backward in some ways. With budgets strapped, states and the federal government have ended many tax credits that had funded green energy initiatives. Republicans have made attacking government loans and credits for renewable energy projects part of their campaign pitch, and even the Democrats, while giving lip service to green energy at their convention, are balking at subsidies and talking up shale gas.

Enter Google, the $40 billion Internet company.

A year ago, Google, which says it is already carbon-neutral—a goal that its founders espoused from the beginning—began a major program of buying renewable energy rather than using carbon-based energy and then offsetting it. This year, the company has turned things around and is investing in green power generation directly, instead of just buying it from others.