Samuel OskysA press release published by Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai says,
Sustainability has been one of Google’s core values from our earliest days. Over the years we’ve worked hard to reduce the carbon footprint of our operations, build products with people and planet in mind, and drive change at scale through our supply chains.
This investment will be the largest renewable energy purchase in corporate history. Additionally, Google is involved in 18 new energy agreements and it plans to add 1,600 megawatts of wind and solar power to its energy portfolio, increasing it by more than 40% and a total of 5,500 megawatts.
Sundar continues,
To ensure maximum impact, all of our latest deals meet the rigorous ‘additionality’ criteria we set out long ago for our energy purchases. This means we’re not buying power from existing wind and solar farms but instead are making long term purchase commitments that result in the development of new projects. Bringing incremental renewable energy to the grids where we consume energy is a critical component of pursuing 24×7 carbon-free energy for all of our operations.
Google has set as a goal to help others obtain electricity from renewable sources and is proving this by making this significant investment.
We’ll provide a $500,000 grant to Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance in the U.S. and a 500,000 euro grant to RE-Source in Europe. These grants will help fund the development of new purchasing models, provide training and resources for consumers, and enable more widespread access to clean power.
In effect, Google will provide support for organizations that expand access to renewable sources for all types of businesses.
Image Source by Google Sustainability
