Google announced today that it would spend "hundreds of millions" of dollars developing a range of green technologies including solar and wind power as part of a push into the renewable energy market.

The software firm said it would spend "tens of millions" of dollars on the new initiative in 2008 alone, adding that it was optimistic a green technology that produced electricity more cheaply than coal could be produced "within years, not decades".

The company said it would hire new staff to do research and development at a renewable energy unit, called RE<C, and that the focus would initially be on solar thermal power, which uses heat from the sun instead of fossil fuels to create steam that powers electricity generators.

"If large-scale renewable deployments are cheaper than coal, the world will have the option to meet a substantial portion of electricity needs from renewable sources and significantly reduce carbon emissions," Larry Page, one of Google's co-founders, said. "We expect this would be a good business for us as well."

Google's philanthropic arm, Google.org, has in the past sponsored green energy initatives, including a project in September to invest $10 million in hybrid electric car technologies, but this is the first time the company itself has made a long term, financial commitment to renewable energy.

A spokesman declined to specify the exact value of the investment or how the money would be spent, saying only that Google would work with a range of organisations including companies, R&D laboratories, and universities.

An existing partner of Google.org, Makani Power, develops technology that harnesses wind energy at high altitudes, which can be as much as 10 times more powerful than the energy generated from terrestrial wind farms.

Google is currently advertising a number of positions, including Director of Green Business Strategy and Head of Renewable Energy Engineering.

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