As we've written about multiple times, Google has a ton of projects going on related to Internet access. With Search, YouTube, Gmail, Maps, Docs, and AdSense, the company now takes up so much of the Internet that more Internet users organically means more Google users. So with growth potential like this, Google has given itself a mission to get more of the world online.

It's not just about bringing people faster Internet with Google Fiber—that's only the tip of the iceberg. A mere one-third of the world is online, with the majority of the disconnected living in the developing world. If Google can solve this problem, it is looking at the potential to triple its customer base (and profits), which gives it the justification to spend money—a lot of money—on bringing Internet access to the world.

Today, Google announced that it is tackling this problem head-on with a new division called "Access and Energy." The group is led by Craig Barratt, who joined Google in 2013. Before that, he was president and CEO of Atheros Communications, a network communications company that is now a division of Qualcomm.

While the "announcement" is nothing more than an update to the Google management page, here's our guess about what could fit under the "Access and Energy" umbrella:

Google Fiber, a fiber-to-the-home service in the US that offers Internet access at gigabit speeds

Project Loon, a balloon/drone-based mesh Internet service

Project Link, a project that is laying fiber backbone in Africa

Mankai Power, a high-altitude kite-style wind turbine system

A $1 billion+ plan to launch 180 low-orbit satellites for Internet access

All of the renewable energy and innovative cooling projects on Google Green

It's not just Google that sees the importance of the developing world. Other major Internet players are realizing that tripling the size of the Internet would be incredibly beneficial to business, and it's up to them to do it. Facebook recently launched internet.org, a partnership between it and several mobile phone companies to bring Internet access to "everybody." And the company recently took a trip to Africa, where it realized it needed to seriously optimize and scale down Android apps in order to provide a better user experience to the phones typically used on that continent. Facebook even has a plan in place to build solar-powered drones that beam Wi-Fi down to the ground.

With Barratt getting an SVP spot, Google's energy and ISP work is now on a par with search, Android/Chrome, Ads, and YouTube. While the current size and number of projects going on at Google is pretty staggering, imagine if the company was three times bigger. That tripling of the customer base is ultimately what "Access and Energy" is trying to bring about.