Google is most likely wanting to do this to green alternative power their own operations and the resulting cut in costs. Not to forget to have a defense against any future Ernon/Lay/Cheney style shock and awe attacks on the State of California. Google Evangelists are making it sound like this is something they are doing for the average Jane and Joe. "We're going to save the world again and become the next Southern Plains or Edison only green and cheap!" The catch is consumers probably won't ever see this equipment become affordable enough to hit the mass market for decades. And thats being overly optimistic, Plus you can bet Google is going to get some fierce resistance and heavy fire from the energy sector who don't want these kids nudging in on their territory.
If not espionage and other dirty tricks against them.

It's the dog eat dog decade. Survival of the meanest.

Google will be stopped. Instead of putting solar panels on people roofs, they will be in big solar "plantations".

Why? People cannot be allowed to own their own source of electricity. How will big utilities gouge them.

When Bechtel set up the water monopoly in Bolivia the first act was to ban water wells.

It is illegal to own a clothesline in Palm Beach.
The energy lobby will never allow windmills and solar panels at home owned by people.

Want to solve the energy problem
Step one: Get rid of capitalism!!

Want to end the 'crisis'? Consider the 12v
house. Well you don't have to make ALL of
it 12v unless you're a big fan of stirring
your laundry with a stick, but as far
as the lighting goes, you should be able
to do a fair amount of that off of DC.
The campers and RV'ers have been doing this
stuff for ages, if they can do it out in
the sticks, then you should be able to do
it in your house. They even make these little
charge-a-lamp things, you can like, set em
in front of your window during the day,
get em all charged up off of free sunlight,
then, at night, they're good for like, 4
hours, I think. There's more sophisticated
ways to do it, but for the price of 3-4
diehards, you could really set yourself up
with a basically 'free' DC lighting system.
Well, not entirely free, you'd still have
to spend the time putting it in, buy the
parts and stuff, but chances are you'd
get a fair amount of life out of something
like that, and save some money off your monthly
power bill. Better in YOUR pocket than Al's...

This cannot work simply because Glenn Beck has been saying that entrepreneurs will fix our energy problems.