Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. Solar Energy News .




SOLAR DAILY
Renewable energy vital for Internet lifestyles: Greenpeace
By Glenn CHAPMAN
San Francisco (AFP) May 12, 2015


A Greenpeace report released on Tuesday charged utilities with hampering efforts to use renewable energy to power data centers needed for services hosted in the cloud.

Greenpeace praised moves made by Apple, Google and other Internet titans to fill a skyrocketing demand for electricity with solar, wind or other environmentally-friendly sources but lamented expansion of data center capacity in places where utilities reliant on carbon-spewing coal fuel dominate markets.

"A growing number of companies have begun to create a corner of the internet that is renewably powered and coal free," the report said in an executive summary.

Internet companies that have committed to being completely powered by renewable energy sources include Apple, Facebook, and Google, according to Greenpeace.

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 center 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 center 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.

- Apple leads the charge -

Apple continued to "lead the charge" in using clean energy to power Internet operations even as the California-based company rapidly expanded, according to the report.

Apple on Sunday announced broadened renewable energy and environmental protection initiatives in China, including a project with the World Wildlife Fund to promote responsible forest management.

The forestland project aims to protect up to a million acres of working forests used for fiber for paper and wood products, according to Apple.

The project is expected to generate as much as 80 million kilowatt hours annually of clean electricity, enough to power about 61,000 Chinese homes.

About 87 percent of Apple's global operations run on renewable energy, and the Sichuan Province solar farms will move the company closer to 100 percent, according to the maker of iPhones, iPads, iPods, Macintosh Computers, and Apple Watch.

Google is also pushing to rely on renewable energy, but its progress is under threat by monopolies held by coal-using utilities in some data center locations such as Georgia, Singapore, Taiwan, and the Carolinas, according to Greenpeace.

Amazon, Microsoft, eBay, and Oracle were among technology giant's who scored low grades from Greenpeace when it came to green energy deployment and advocacy.

"The magic of the internet seems almost limitless," Greenpeace said. "But each new internet enabled magic trick means more and more data."

Increasing demand for data, particularly streaming video, and processing power in the cloud means ramped up demand for power by data centers doing the online work.

"While there may be significant energy efficiency gains from moving our lives online, the explosive growth of our digital lives is outstripping those gains," Greenpeace said.


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
All About Solar Energy at SolarDaily.com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle




Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News





SOLAR DAILY
The thin film solar cell industry in transition
Jarfalla, Sweden (SPX) May 12, 2015
Prices of solar cells and solar panels have fallen dramatically over the last few years. This (and state subsidies) has been good for the advancement of this amazing renewable energy source, and solar energy can today be seen as an established energy source, reliable and well distributed, cost competitive with traditional non-renewable energy sources and with a very healthy annual growth in inst ... read more


SOLAR DAILY
A model for bioenergy feedstock/vegetable double-cropping systems

Ethanol may release more of some pollutants than previously thought

WSU researchers produce jet fuel compounds from fungus

For biofuels and climate, location matters

SOLAR DAILY
IBM's Watson extends cancer insights to 14 new centers

Robots to drive Polaris off-road vehicles in DARPA challenge

Making robots more human

Computer faces poker pros in no-limit Texas Hold'em

SOLAR DAILY
Vulnerable grassland birds abandon mating sites near wind turbines

Germany's E.ON building wind reputation

World-first and new standard achieved in floating lidar as AXYS selects ZephIR 300

Molycorp to supply rare earths for use in Siemens wind turbines

SOLAR DAILY
Google self-driving cars not crash-proof

Tesla ramps up output in first quarter but losses rise

China auto sales down 0.5% in April: industry group

China auto giant FAW gets new chief amid graft scandal

SOLAR DAILY
David V. Goliath: Small-Cap Tech To Save Giant Coal

Scientists build battery entirely out of one material

Tracking exploding lithium-ion batteries in real-time

Students develop electricity-producing leg brace

SOLAR DAILY
Holtec International and Eddy-Lea Energy Alliance Partner to Build Interim Storage Facility

Investigators probe cause of fire at New York nuclear plant

Nuclear Power Plant Near New York City Shut Down After Fire

Indonesia plans to build nuclear power plant within 10 years

SOLAR DAILY
Carbon price vital for zero-emission goal: World Bank

Global carbon dioxide levels reach new monthly record

Unexplained gap in global emissions of potent greenhouse gases resolved

Berkeley Lab researchers find that saving energy is still cheap

SOLAR DAILY
Forests could be the trump card in efforts to end global hunger

Forest canopies buffer against climate change

Partially logged rainforests emitting more carbon than previously thought

Conifer study illustrates twists of evolution




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.