A blog post dated for tomorrow has appeared on Google’s leading online press platform. Its author, Urs Hölzle, proudly announced that this year the company would become the first in the world to run entirely on green energy.
Hölzle highlights the company’s effort to become more eco-friendly over the years. Google’s data centers are currently 50% more energy efficient than they were when the company built them.
However, the primary goal for Alphabet’s subsidiary is to stop using non-renewable resources. 2017 will mark the 100% renewable energy milestone for Google’s energy, in all of its offices and other buildings worldwide.
Google is the largest buyer of green tech in the world
The company’s efforts to become carbon neutral started as early as 2007. In 2010, they purchased an entire eolic farm in Iowa, capable of producing 114 megawatts.
This buy was the first step in a bid for aggressive expansion that has made them the world’s largest corporate client for solar and wind-powered energy. They currently own a total of 2.6 gigawatts in power production, according to the text.
Another highlight is that Google is an avid client for wind-generated power, and only dedicates small fraction to solar energy. Its closest eco-friendly competitor seems to be Amazon, though it struggles to reach even half of their cumulative purchasing.
To accomplish the objective of zero carbon emissions, at least concerning the energy they use, Google will continue to purchase “enough wind and solar electricity annually to account for every unit of electricity our operations consume, globally.”
Google looks to help others lessen their carbon footprint as well
The company notes the cost of solar power has come down 80% and wind a lesser 60% over the last six years. This phenomenon might rest in the now increasing supply of affordable, eco-friendly technologies.
The fact that electricity currently emerges as the cheapest option in the market also makes the company’s efforts more attainable. Expense cuts are not the only benefit, protection against price swings in energy is also a perk.
Google now holds 20 different renewable energy projects that focus on helping some communities in The United States, Latin America, and Europe. Their purchasing commitments also generate substantial revenue for the regions in which they decide to invest, Hölzle writes.
The company’s primary concern is to create a society that runs entirely on renewable energy, a motto that mimics words uttered by other prominent corporate personalities such as Elon Musk.
The U. S. election has sparked concern about the future of renewable energy and climate change, which Google also mentions repeatedly. Many of the new members in Donald’s Trump cabinet are known climate change deniers.
Source: Google