What It Really Means When Google and Apple Say They Run on 100% Renewable Energy
The role of RECs, the concept of “additionality”, and their impact on the earth
Apple, Amazon, Google, Facebook, and Microsoft — five companies that arguably make up “big tech” — say they are either already powered by 100% renewable energy or are close to getting there.
Together, these companies own and operate more than a hundred data centers (each the size of multiple football fields), close to a thousand offices, and countless other buildings, making them some of the most power-hungry companies in the world. Given this, running on 100% renewable energy is a significant achievement.
But there are plenty of critics who argue that these claims are misleading. Some say carbon offsets might do more to assuage guilt than they do to help the environment. To understand where these arguments come from, let’s start with the basics.
What is renewable energy?
Energy that is produced using natural resources like sunlight, wind, water, plants, geothermal heat, and biomass is classified as renewable or green energy.
