Google and Microsoft add more renewable energy for datacenters
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Google and Microsoft have both invested in sizeable renewable energy contracts to power their data centers.
According to The register (opens in new tab)Google has signed a 12-year 100MW power purchase agreement from Scotland’s “Moray West” offshore wind farm in Scotland’s relatively remote Moray Firth region.
Owned by EDP Renewables and France’s Engie, the joint venture will see the search giant receive 5 TWh of green power from 2025 from its 882MW offshore wind farm, which will be used to power its Google Cloud UK region.
What about Microsoft?
Microsoft also signed its own power purchase agreement (PPAs) in Ireland covering over 900MW of new renewable electricity, making the announcement on its European Cloud Features Blog (opens in new tab).
Some sources have indicated (opens in new tab) this includes a deal with Norwegian company Statkraft and Irish firm Energia Group, Power Capital Renewable Energy, giving the tech giant more than 366 MW of clean energy in the new deal.
Why do they invest?
Both companies have lofty sustainability goals to be met on the horizon. The type of hyperscale data centers that the two companies dominate, in addition to Amazon Web Services (AWS), have a huge environmental footprint.
According to independent research by the IEA, data centers consume approx 1% of all electricity consumed worldwide.
Microsoft aims to transition to 100% renewable energy by 2025, and by 2030, Microsoft aims to match 100% of its electricity consumption with carbon-free energy purchases.
Matt Brittin, president of Google EMEA, said his company is aiming for “a target of being fully carbon-free energy by 2030” and that “in the UK we will be running on or nearly 90 per cent carbon-free energy by 2025”.
Google said the latest deal will mean the UK cloud region will join just six other regions – including Finland, Iowa, Montreal, Spain and Toronto – that will run on or nearly 90 percent carbon-free energy from 2025.