Google Aims to Fully Power its Operations Using Renewable Energy by Next Year

Google, the global internet titan, has set its sights on an impressive environmental milestone: by next year, it plans to fuel its operations entirely through wind and solar power. According to Bloomberg, Gary Demasi, the director for global infrastructure and energy at Google, stated that the company hopes to buy enough renewable energy in 2017 to meet or even exceed the power consumption of their offices and 13 data centers, which consumed 5.7 terawatts of energy in 2015.

This pursuit for clean energy resources is not a new venture for the company. Google inked its first deal for renewable energy in 2010. Fast forward to today, and the company has contracts for 2.6 gigawatts of capacity from 20 wind and solar farms around the globe. These sizable projects, which took around $3.5 billion to construct, included about $2 billion dedicated to power plants in the U.S. alone.

But Google isn’t the only industry leader trying to achieve more sustainable operations. Microsoft has also procured about 500 megawatts of power from wind energy, with a target to utilize approximately 50% renewable energy by 2018. Likewise, Facebook powers its Texas data center with wind energy. Overall, companies have engaged deals to purchase 5.1GW of power from renewable sources, a remarkable increase from the 1.1GW figure before 2015. This amplifies the reality of how companies are shifting their focus towards harnessing alternative energy sources.

Under the Obama administration, efforts were launched to significantly cut America’s reliance on foreign oil by increasing vehicle fuel efficiency standards. The clean energy crusade hasn’t been lost on the US either. The country’s installed solar capacity has gradually expanded, standing at 13.3% at 25,620MW in 2015. Although this figure fell behind Germany’s 22.5% at 45,530MW, it’s worth noting that three countries stood out in the relative growth of capacity within that year: China, Japan and the United States.

President-elect Donald Trump gave a somewhat contrasting stance on the issue in his interview with the New York Times. He disclosed that he hadn’t considered subsidizing wind energy for now, viewing it as less promising without subsidies and not a worthy investment at the moment. While the US is pushing boundaries in the area of green energy, the response of this industry to an administration which doesn’t reckon climate change raises a significant question.

This drive towards renewable power sources throughout tech companies is a testament to their commitment to addressing environmental issues, even in the face of potential policy change. The increasing shift is clear evidence that the industry is well aware of its role in mitigating climate change. While the road is not easy, the journey towards a greener future is definitely worth the effort.