Google Green

Renewable energy

Google is helping to power the world with clean energy. Our goal is 100% renewable power, and so far we've committed to purchase nearly 2.5 gigawatts of renewable energy – equivalent to taking over 1 million cars off the road and making us the largest non-utility purchaser of renewable energy in the world. Separately, we've also committed to invest nearly $2.5 billion in renewable energy projects, which produce enough electricity to power over 1 million US homes and also makes us one of the largest corporate investors in renewable energy in the world. We believe that through these two initiatives, we're creating a better future for everyone.

Windmills

Using green power at Google

We are committed to powering 100% of our operations with clean energy and have signed contracts to purchase nearly 2.5 GW of renewable energy – equivalent to taking over one million cars off the road – making us the largest corporate renewable energy purchaser in the world.

On campus solar panels

We pilot new technology on our campuses

When testing new renewable energy technologies on our campuses, we evaluate them against a few criteria: They must make good business sense, have potential for long-term significant impact and transform the industry. For example, in 2007, we installed the largest corporate solar panel installation of its kind—1.7 MW—at our Mountain View campus. We’ve grown the size of the system to 1.9 MW, and it generates enough electricity to power 30% of the peak load of the buildings on which it sits.

More on how we pilot new green technology 

We purchase green power near our data centers

To reach our 100% renewable energy goal, we’re buying clean electricity directly from wind and solar farms around the world, and working with our utility partners to make more renewable energy available to us and others. Here’s an overview of our renewable energy purchase commitments to date:

  1. Story County II: Iowa wind direct purchase
  2. Minco II: Oklahoma wind direct purchase
  3. Canadian Hills: Oklahoma wind utility purchase
  4. Maevaara: Sweden wind direct purchase
  5. Happy Hereford: Texas wind direct purchase
  6. Ramsnäs, Skalleberg, Mungseröd, Alered: Sweden wind direct purchase
  7. Wind VIII: Iowa wind utility purchase
  8. Delfzijl: Netherlands wind utility purchase
  9. Golden Hills: California wind direct purchase
  10. Bluestem: Oklahoma wind direct purchase
  11. Bethel: Texas wind direct purchase
  12. Great Western: Oklahoma wind direct purchase
  13. Duke Solar: North Carolina solar utility purchase
  14. El Romero: Chile solar direct purchase
  15. Jenasen: Sweden wind direct purchase
  16. Cimarron Bend: Kansas wind direct purchase
  17. Beaufort: Sweden wind direct purchase
  18. Tellenes: Norway wind direct purchase

More on how we purchase green power 

Wind farm

Investing in a clean energy future

We're investing in clean energy so it's more accessible for our company and for everyone. And we've done that in ways that make business sense. In fact, we've made agreements to fund nearly $2.5 billion in renewable energy projects. We're helping create a clean energy future that's better for our business and the environment.

BrightSource solar panels

We've invested in the following projects:

  1. Peace Garden Wind Farms: opening up more financing for wind
  2. Atlantic Wind Connection: a superhighway for clean energy transmission
  3. Shepherd’s Flat: one of the world’s largest wind farms
  4. Ivanpah : concentrated solar power at scale
  5. Photovoltaics in Brandenburg: investing in clean energy in Germany
  6. Alta Wind Energy Center: harnessing winds of the Mojave
  7. SolarCity: investing in residential rooftop solar
  8. Clean Power Finance: financing for rooftop solar
  9. Recurrent Energy: large scale photovoltaic (PV) projects in California
  10. Rippey Wind Farm: financing wind power in Iowa
  11. Spinning Spur Wind Farm: investing in West Texas wind
  12. Jasper Power Project: investing in South African solar
  13. Mount Signal Solar: financing solar in California
  14. Recurrent Energy: solar facilities in California and Arizona
  15. Panhandle 2 Wind Farm: financing wind in Texas
  16. SunPower: investing in residential solar
  17. Regulus: repurposing an oil and gas field for renewable energy
  18. Red Hills Renewable Energy Park: Utah's largest solar power plant
  19. Balko Wind Farm: financing wind power in Oklahoma
  20. SolarCity: solar for thousands of residential rooftops
  21. Waverly Wind Farm: financing wind energy in Kansas
  22. Lake Turkana Wind Power: investing in Africa’s largest wind project

More on our clean energy investments 

We've been recognized for our green efforts

Google has been recognized for our commitment to using and investing in renewable power, and for reducing our overall environmental impact. We're proud of these accomplishments and are excited to support collaboration across the industry. We co-founded the Climate Savers Computing Initiative in 2007 and joined The Green Grid—two global groups dedicated to higher efficiency and sustainability standards.

Greenpeace First Place Cool IT Leaderboard 5 EPA 2012 Green Power Leadership Award Winner

What others are saying

“Google has been the most open in the industry about the importance of increasing not only energy efficiency within the sector, but also the need to move our energy sources to renewable energy. Google has made significant efforts to increase the company’s transparency. This is a great step forward…Google’s commitment to using renewable energy as much as possible has set the bar for the industry.”

– Greenpeace

“Talking about sustainability is a popular marketing tool, but Google has made renewable energy and environmental protection part of both its corporate identity and its operations in a way that is unique in corporate America.“

– Associated Press

Read more about what others are saying