We’ve heard about global warming and the negative side effects of releasing too much CO2 into the atmosphere quite frequently over the past few years, and technology is playing a role in reducing emissions with electric vehicles, smart-devices in homes and office buildings to reduce energy consumption and so on.
Microsoft also plays its part too by relying on power from alternative “green” energy sources to power its operations in the United States. In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency has listed Microsoft as #2 in the list of top 100 leading green energy purchasers in the States. According to them, Microsoft purchases almost 2.5 billion kilowatt-hours of clean energy on an annual basis, which happens to be enough to power the company’s entire US operations.
“Microsoft currently purchases nearly 2.5 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power annually for its U.S. operations, which is enough green power to match 100 percent of Microsoft’s U.S. electricity use. Our annual purchase of green power is equivalent to avoiding the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the electricity use of nearly 236,000 average American homes annually” – Microsoft
The green energy that Microsoft purchases comes from a range of sources including biogas, biomass, small-hydro, solar, and wind. The company either purchases this energy from renewable energy companies such as Sterling Planet and PNM, or produces it on-site with its own solar panels for example.
Microsoft’s closest competitors also on the EPA’s list include Google sitting at #4 and purchasing over 700 million kWh of green energy, and Apple at #6, with over 600 kWh. The software giant clearly takes climate change seriously and has made a commitment to be a carbon-neutral company, hoping more companies will follow by example.
Microsoft has also ranked 2nd on both the Fortune 500 and the Tech & Telecom lists. You can check out the full EPA list of the top 100 leading green power purchasers over at the source link below.
Further reading: Business, Green, Microsoft, Renewable Energy
