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Google says it will run entirely on renewable energy in 2017

nytimes.com

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Re: Google says it will run entirely on renewable energy in 2017

#191

Post by rshaban »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #52
deegles wrote: post #45

Google is ahead of the game here. Other tech companies also are moving to renewables but they're not at 100% yet (IIRC). The key point is that as cloud computing becomes commoditized and people build tools to quickly transfer from one cloud provider to another, the profit margin will become smaller and smaller until energy costs dominate the cost to provide a service. It is already the case that a machine will use mo…

> whoever has the cheapest power will be able to provide cheapest services One of the reasons the UAE pitches itself as a data centre site.

Yes, because servers love hot, humid, dusty climates!

Re: Google says it will run entirely on renewable energy in 2017

#192

Post by infectoid »

Ph0X wrote: post #151
kevinchen wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple has pressured Foxconn to build out renewable capacity for certain steps of iPhone manufacturing by 2018. There is a lot of work to be done in manufacturing (much harder problem) but they have definitely made a public commitment to reduce the impact: https://www.apple.com/pr/library/2015/10/22Apple-Launches-Ne...

Let's just agree that both Apple and Google are doing fantastic jobs in this sector, and other big tech companies need to step it up.

Indeed. Let's not drive a wedge where none is needed.

Re: Google says it will run entirely on renewable energy in 2017

#193

Post by kumarski »

LightskinKanye wrote: post #152
ori_b wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Got a better alternative?

They have billions but aren't sponsoring scholarships for graduate physics degrees like Boeing or any "corporate" company does. If they want to see their 10xs breakthroughs (which they sure talk a lot about) they should be throwing money at condensed matter physics research and just support in general for physics. Its easy to get a 10x in software but energy is a whole different game. That way the smartest people won…

high paying code writing or going into physics/engineering.

Engineering is much different than software architecture.

One requires hard sciences competency, whereas one you can go into for years with none, and be successful.

Re: Google says it will run entirely on renewable energy in 2017

#194

Post by caseysoftware »

peterjs wrote: post #71
ChuckMcM wrote: post #53

This is pretty awesome, Google is definitely leading the industry here. One of the more interesting things I learned while working for Google was the intricate way in which the "grid" is managed by a separate but co-operating set of entities. Google disrupted that happy bunch by creating a wholly owned subsidiary that was a licensed power company[1]. That gave it standing to buy from and sell energy to the grid and i…

Is it? Intel has been purchasing large quantities of green energy for years. In the last few year it has been 100% of the their overall consumption [1]. Is there any difference in what the two companies are trying to achieve? [1] https://www.epa.gov/greenpower/green-power-partnership-natio...

Google has better PR.

(I still think their goal and actions are admirable. There are many companies that have been jump started by a major customer pre-buying a product so the company can ramp up manufacturing to fulfill that and other orders. I much prefer this model over government-driven investment as I have more confidence this demonstrates true demand.)

Re: Google says it will run entirely on renewable energy in 2017

#195

Post by Someone »

suppressingfire wrote: post #190
Someone wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple (smaller server park, but does that matter?) claims 93% over 2015, so they can't be far behind. http://images.apple.com/environment/pdf/Apple_Environmental_... : "For starters, as of January 2016, we’re sourcing or generating enough renewable energy to cover 93 percent of the electricity we use at our facilities worldwide. In fact, Apple is now 100 percent renewable in 23 countries, including China, Germany, Si…

Check out the graph here: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-07-05/waging-am... Yeah, they rank on the list, but they're pretty far behind.

As I said: “smaller server park, but does that matter?”

I don’t think the thing to judge by is who consumes the most renewable energy.

Re: Google says it will run entirely on renewable energy in 2017

#197

Post by r00fus »

philipkglass wrote: post #154
blazespin wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, or maybe Big Oil is just pretty evil.

I'd say the opposition right now is mostly Big Coal. If all coal and oil electrical generating capacity shut down and were replaced by renewables + gas it would be a net win for the oil and gas industry, because oil is a tiny fraction of electricity production and coal retirements boost gas demand. Gas is a flexible electricity source and a good complement to renewables. But a decade from now natural gas might be fac…

Big Coal and Big Oil work together far more often than not. Extensive renewable energy would eliminate the massive profit of power utilities and refineries both.

Re: Google says it will run entirely on renewable energy in 2017

#198

Post by philipkglass »

r00fus wrote: post #197
philipkglass wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd say the opposition right now is mostly Big Coal. If all coal and oil electrical generating capacity shut down and were replaced by renewables + gas it would be a net win for the oil and gas industry, because oil is a tiny fraction of electricity production and coal retirements boost gas demand. Gas is a flexible electricity source and a good complement to renewables. But a decade from now natural gas might be fac…

Big Coal and Big Oil work together far more often than not. Extensive renewable energy would eliminate the massive profit of power utilities and refineries both.

I would have agreed with you a few years ago, but coal producer antipathy toward O&G has increased a lot since fracking unleashed the cheap gas that has been eating their lunch. At the same time gas producers have softened their stance against climate action, calculating (correctly) that in the short-medium term coal-to-gas switching in the name of climate action can send a lot of new natural gas demand their way. As for the long term, either they don't care yet or don't really believe that natural gas and oil will eventually be in line for replacement too.

Re: Google says it will run entirely on renewable energy in 2017

#199

Post by ariwilson »

jjtheblunt wrote: post #169
evanws wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just to be clear, 7% of Apple's global power is still dirty and they have not made any public commitment to bring that down any further. Google is a much much larger energy consumer, has been carbon neutral since 2007, and is going to use 100% renewables globally within the next year. Also, Google made its energy company play back in 2010. Apple made theirs in 2016.

citation for the assertion "Google is a much larger energy consumer" ?

https://blog.google/topics/environment/100-percent-renewable...

Google is purchasing 2600GW of renewable energy as of Nov 2016, while Apple is purchasing around 150GW.

Re: Google says it will run entirely on renewable energy in 2017

#200

Post by ghostly_s »

forsberg wrote: post #187
Theodores wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Europe Apple are considered far from 'green' due to the problem of the power adaptors. Every other phone or tablet sold in the E.U. has a sensible power adaptor, usually the mini USB flavour. Apple though, they don't think the law applies to them, or at least not the spirit of the law, so they keep churning out these Apple only power adaptors complete with the cables that fray and break a lot easier than normal ca…

Actually they do follow the EU regulation. It states that the power adapters use the standard USB connector which Apple complies with. What you're thinking about is the cable between the adapter and the phone/tablet/whatever, and that cable isn't part of the regulation, only the power adaptor.

> The European Standardisation Bodies CEN, CENELEC and ETSI (independent of the OMTP/GSMA proposal) defined a common External Power Supply (EPS) for use with smartphones sold in the EU based on Micro-USB. [...] Apple, one of the original MoU signers, makes Micro-USB adapters available – as permitted in the Common EPS MoU – for its iPhones equipped with Apple's proprietary 30-pin dock connector or (later) Lightning connector.[1]

Nonetheless, framing ones' opinion of Apple's sustainability practices on this one pet issue seems quite myopic. The actual sustainability complaint stems from the alleged poor durability, not the choice of connection; but even if we accept that criticism, replacing charging cables occasionally seems like small drop in the bucket vs. the company's environmental impact as a whole.

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB#Mini_and_micro_connectors

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