It is easy for small entities, say households, to rely on processes and methods that conserve energy. An environmental friendly parent can decide to use solar energy instead of electric energy or decide to use electrically powered automobiles instead of the popular petroleum driven automobiles. For big companies, such as Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s Google, implementing environmentally friendly solutions in their daily activities may seem impossible.
But, Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s Google does not seem to be weighed down by the fact that the company is too big to be environmental friendly. They are in the process of using more renewable energy than already in use in the company at the moment. They are planning to use renewable energy to run nearly everything in the company, including the data centers that are known to use a lot of energy. They made this announcement and recently and assured the public that there are plans in place that will ensure they accomplish this in the next ten years (by 2015).
The company plans to run its data centers y purchasing an extra 842 megawatts of ‘clean’ energy. Of the 842 megawatts, 700 gigawatts will come from sources within the USA; these sources include solar power from North Carolina and wind driven turbines located on farms in Oklahoma. According to their plans, additional megawatts will come from windmills in Sweden farms and solar energy from a solar plant in Chile (South America).
If all goes well, the company will be using over 2 gigawatts of ‘clean’ energy. The company targets to be consuming 3.6 gigawatts by 2025. Their plans dictate that they should be using renewable energy on all their data centers that are located on four continents. The main goal here is to operate ‘cleanly; since the demand for their services is ever rising, especially their email service, Gmail and YouTube, their online video service.
Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s Google not only have the advantage of popularity, but they also have the money. Their wealth is more than likely going to influence companies that specialize in the provision of power services to be enthusiastic about sourcing ‘clean’ energy.
As of the moment, Google’s interest in ‘clean’ energy has driven both old and modern power utility companies to enhance their services and focus on alternative sources of energy that are environmental friendly. Companies that have been inspired by Google include the US branch of the British company RES Group, Duke Energy of Charlotte the French company EDF and N.C.
As of the moment, Google claims that it spends $2.5 billion on renewable energy on its current operations that require power. The company uses 1.2 gigawatts of ‘clean’ energy. This far, the company is not clear on the amount it intends to spend to achieve its 2025 plans.
Google were very cautious about the time they made this announcement. The tender notice had closed in November. They are not willing to disclose the contractor that they will hire to achieve their plans. According to reliable sources, they intend to announce the contractors after the U.N climate conference in Paris has commenced.
Gary Denasi, the company’s director of data center energy, said, “It’s n good time to make a bold announcement.”
The company’s director of energy and infrastructure said that as much as Google is known to prefer renewable energy over petroleum-based fuels, it should not be taken to mean that a green approach is an option for big companies only.
“We are only trying to lead others to the change from fossil fuels to renewable energy,” the director said. He went on to say that the green approach is not a thing for big companies or technology companies. All people should aim towards environmental friendly energy solutions.
In the recent past, we have seen some big technology companies invest in renewable energy sources. Apple, for example, sources some of its energy from solar plants. Microsoft, HP, and Amazon all have some of their energy coming from ‘clean’ energy sources.
However, this trend is not only a thing for this technology companies. Some old companies that have always used conventional energy have started using ‘clean’ energy. These companies includes Unilever, Dow Chemical Company, and Kaiser Permanente.
