Why tech companies moved toward renewable energy
If the internet were a country its electricity demands would rank sixth in the world. As the number of internet users grow Apple, Google and Facebook are leading the charge to make the internet a much greener place. In a report by Greenpeace titled ‘Clicking Clean: How Companies are creating the Green internet’ – it highlights the immense power consumption the world’s biggest tech companies require to provide their customers with services. The total number of internet users is expected to hit three billion this year and with growth in popular services such as Google, Twitter & Facebook there is an unyielding demand for data.
Apple, Google and Facebook’s clean energy shift
Over the past two years Apple, Google and Facebook have shifted their hosting to a much greener, cleaner alternative – with aims to run on 100 per cent renewable energy. The tech giants have decided to make a change and pioneer new energy sources in a bid to stop their contribution towards global warming.
What it meant for greener internet infrastructure
Apple became the first company to achieve its 100 per cent renewable energy goal to power its iCloud and is currently operating the largest privately owned solar installation in the United States. Facebook have invested in wind energy and with a US$1.9 billion investment from MidAmerican Energy, they have placed the world’s largest-ever order of onshore wind turbines in part to meet the social network’s energy demands.
Google are also incorporating wind power into their energy strategy and will be using the renewable source to provide electricity for Gmail and YouTube. Greenpeace hopes that the green change made by these major tech companies will influence others to make a change, as only 5 out of the top 19 internet change are presently committed to a goal of powering their operations with 100 per cent renewable energy.
