Google targets 100 percent renewables in 2017

There appears to be a growing divide between many forward-thinking corporations and the incoming Trump administration on the benefits of renewable energy.

Several climate unfriendly appointments from the President-elect Trump seem to signal favoritism for fossil fuels and resistance to the growing renewable energy boom.

The United States clean energy jobs boom has now reached 600,000. Meanwhile coal jobs fell to around 66,000 this fall. Market forces continue to move away from coal toward natural gas and renewables.

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A wind farm in Story County Iowa. Image: Carl-Wycoff-flickr.jpg

In spite of what seem like backwards policy signals by the inbound Trump administration, many forward-thinking corporations are forging ahead with the push to renewables.

Google is on the road to using 100 percent renewable energy in 2017. Climate Central's Brian Kahn has this piece on how Google plans to move forward toward 100 percent renewables in 2017.

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For six years, Google has aggressively purchased renewable energy to power the email accounts, searches, app downloads, video streams and other services that have become an integral part of daily online life.

In the process, it became the largest corporate buyer of renewable energy on the planet. Next year it plans to go one step further, ensuring that it purchases 100 percent of the energy it uses to power its entire sprawling digital empire from renewable sources.

While Google has said it’s committed to be part of the climate solution, altruism isn’t the main reason for its renewable energy splurge. Buying renewable also gives Google a competitive advantage. In 2015, it consumed 5.7 terrawatts of energy, roughly the equivalent of all of San Francisco. The fluctuating cost of coal and gas can create unwelcome surprises for a company that is dependent on energy for its core business.

“Energy costs are the largest operating cost for our data centers,” Neha Palmer, the head of Google’s energy strategy, said. “There’s a perception that renewables can be more expensive and that’s just not the case.”

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North Star Solar project: Image: Evan-Frost-MPR

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