Greenpeace: Apple, Facebook en Google leiders voor ‘groen internet’
14 mei 2015 – Apple, Facebook en Google nemen de leiding naar een internet op hernieuwbare energie, stelt Greenpeace in haar rapport Click Clean. Tegelijk waarschuwt de milieuorganisatie voor de invloed van de fossiele energiesector.
Greenpeace pleit voor een ‘groen internet’. Meer online activiteit levert energiebesparing op, zo schrijft de organisatie in haar rapport, maar die winst wordt tenietgedaan door de enorme datacentra die nodig zijn voor al dat internetverkeer. Greenpeace onderzocht waar grote internetbedrijven hun stroom vandaan halen.
Met name Apple scoort goed in het Greenpeace rapport, dat de herkomst van de energie gebruikt voor online activiteiten beschouwt. Apple gebruikt 100 procent hernieuwbare energie voor haar internetactiviteiten.
Uit een bericht van Silicon Republic
‘(…) Apple continues to lead the way toward a green internet with several major renewable energy investments announced in the last year, including a US$850 million deal to power its operations in California — the largest-ever non-utility solar deal.(…)’
In Europa bouwt Apple aan twee enorme datacentra op hernieuwbare energie. Ook Google en Facebook scoren goed in het Greenpeace-rapport. Maar Greenpeace waarschuwt voor de invloed van de fossiele energiesector.
Uit een bericht van EurActiv
‘(…)Those commitments have driven growth of renewable power in several key markets, and caused some utilities to invest more heavily in that kind of electricity generation to meet demand, the report stated.
However, some locations that have attracted data centre investments are in markets ruled by utilities with generation powered mostly by coal, gases from which are a culprit in climate change.
Examples listed included Duke Energy in North Carolina, Dominion Resources in Virginia, and Taiwan Power Company in Taiwan.
“These utilities represent the biggest obstacles to building a green internet, and will require collaborative pressure from data centre operators and other electricity customers to secure the policy changes needed to open the market up to competitors that offer meaningful options for renewable energy,” Greenpeace said. (…)’
De belangrijkste bevindingen in het rapport Click Clean
‘(…) Key Findings:
• Apple continues to lead the charge in powering its corner of the internet with renewable energy even as it continues to rapidly expand. All three of its data center expansions announced in the past year will be powered with renewable energy. Apple is also having a positive impact on pushing major colocation providers to help it maintain progress toward its 100% renewable energy goal.
• Colocation companies continue to lag far behind consumer-facing data center operators in seeking renewable energy to power their operations, but Equinix’s adoption of a 100% renewable energy commitment and offering of renewably hosted facilities is an important step forward.
• Google continues to match Apple in deploying renewable energy with its expansion in some markets, but its march toward 100% renewable energy is increasingly under threat by monopoly utilities for several data centers including those in North and South Carolina, Georgia, Singapore and Taiwan.
• Amazon’s adoption of a 100% renewable energy goal, while potentially significant, lacks basic transparency and, unlike similar commitments from Apple, Facebook or Google, does not yet appear to be guiding Amazon’s investment decisions toward renewable energy and away from coal.
• The rapid rise of streaming video is driving significant growth in our online footprint, and in power-hungry data centers and network infrastructure needed to deliver it.
• Microsoft has slipped further behind Apple and Google in the race to build a green internet, as its cloud footprint continues to undergo massive growth in an attempt to catch up with Amazon, but has not kept pace with Apple and Google in terms of its supply of renewable electricity.
• Data center operators committed to renewable energy goals will need to redouble their efforts to work together to push policymakers for changes that allow them to procure renewable energy, overcoming the resistance of monopoly utilities. (…)’
Bronnen
Greenpeace, 13 mei 2015: 2015 Click Clean Report
EurActiv, 13 mei 2015: Renewable energy vital for internet lifestyles says Greenpeace
Silicon Republic, 13 mei 2015: Greenpeace green internet report shows Apple, Facebook and Google progress towards a cleaner internet
Treehugger, 13 mei 2015: How green is the internet? Which online giants are cleanest and dirtiest?
Rapport
Greenpeace, mei 2015: Click Clean: A Guide to Building the Green Internet
