In 2011 , Google chugged about0.013 percentof the world ’s energy use to fuel their information center and function spaces . As things carry on , that consumption is only go to increase , leave behind behind a goodly Department of Energy bill and a grubby C footprint .
Next year , 100 per centum of that electricity will amount from renewable energy sources , Google announce ina web log mail service . They say they will buy up to 2.6 gigawatts ( 2,600 megawatts ) of wind farms and solar DOE to account for 100 percent of their electricity use by 2017 . you’re able to consider the full “ bloodless paper ” of their goalsin this PDF .
Google have been creeping towards renewable energy for some time . They have already invest over $ 3.5 billion into renewable energy projects and are the reality ’s large corporal buyer of renewable electricity .
This is manifestly great news for the environs , but unobjectionable and green energy is merely the cherry tree on top of this business - guided choice .
“ Over the last six years , the monetary value of wind and solar come down 60 percentage and 80 per centum , severally , proving that renewables are more and more becoming the lowest cost selection , ” Urs Hölzle , Google ’s senior vice president for technical infrastructure , explained inthe post . “Electricity costs are one of the largest portion of our operating expenses at our data centers , and having a long - terminal figure unchanging cost of renewable power render protection against Leontyne Price swing in energy . ”
Fingers queer , this could be a business move that the majority of large companies decide to do in the age to fare . As part of theRE100 initiative , 83 of the world ’s top companies have made commitments to go 100 percent renewable , including Nike , Nestle , Microsoft , Starbucks , Coca - Cola , Goldman Sachs , General Motors , H&M , IKEA , and dozens of other household names . A vast amount of these multinationals hope to achieve their unripened dreams by 2020 .
" The science tells us that tackling climate change is an urgent global priority , " added Hölzle in the Wiley Post . " We believe the secret sector , in partnership with insurance policy loss leader , must take sheer stride and that we can do so in a direction that leads to growth and opportunity . And we have a responsibility to do so – to our substance abuser and the surround . We have circumstances of advancement left to make , but these achievements we ’re announce today feel like a breathing spell of novel tune . Now , back to work . "
