Facebook announces 2020 renewable energy plan

Facebook has today committed to power its global operations with 100% renewable energy by the end of 2020 after a record-breaking year of green investments.

The social media giant also revealed it had achieved its 2018 goal of powering 50% of its facilities with renewable energy one year early, reaching 51% in 2017.

Moreover, Facebook has targeted a 75% greenhouse gas emission cut by the end of the decade, and has signed contracts for over 2,500MW of new solar and wind energy in the last 12 months alone.

“All of these projects are new and on the same grid as our data centres,” Facebook said. “That means that each of these projects brings jobs, investment and a healthier environment.

“We are proud of the impact our renewable energy program is having on local communities and the market in general.”

Facebook has data centres all over the world, and claims to look for renewable power solutions that meet its needs, but also “move energy markets forward”.

It does this by building infrastructure, establishing green tariffs, and giving other companies access to its renewable energy resources.

This comes after data from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) revealed that technology firms have been the biggest corporate buyers of clean energy this year, purchasing around 1.8GW.

Facebook leads the way, followed by AT&T, with the US and Nordic countries accounting for nearly 80% of purchases across 28 markets.

BNEF said the high levels of activity were thanks to the promise of long-term savings, with PV module costs down 84% globally since 2010, and wind turbine costs down 32%.

“Taken together with efficiency improvements, these cost declines have made renewables cost-competitive with wholesale power prices and more traditional sources of electricity,” BNEF said.

“As a result, we’re seeing corporations locking into fixed, long-term clean energy contracts, hedging against volatile prices in the wholesale market.”

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